Reckless cocktail party speech will no longer be countenanced in Palm Beach, as long as it deals with past referrals of wealthy investors to Ponzi scheme perfectionist, Bernard Madoff, stated Gary W. Roberts, Esq, an experienced Palm Beach trial attorney whose Florida litigation practice includes civil and criminal allegations and proofs of fraud and other litigation claims. Instead, Roberts commented, those seemingly innocent party comments may serve as a catalyst for litigation against those who, over a drink or dinner, referred Madoff to trusted friends and charities to handle the investment of their considerable monies, in exchange for referral fees paid privately later for the mere referral of a moneyed prospect.
Gary W. Roberts, Esq., a Florida civil trial attorney who has handled numerous civil fraud cases over his career, has keyed in on certain local Palm Beach, New York and Florida area newspaper and media accounts and comments seemingly attributed to certain area residents, possibly identifying referral monies allegedly paid by Madoff to Palm Beach and New York area notables, seemingly as a silent reward for identifying new Madoff target investors who would later lose their money. Such referral monies said to have been allegedly paid was for merely having first identified and then possibly having reassured friends and acquaintenances, potential investor targets, that Madoff and his group were suitable investors for life savings, inheritances and charity monies on the Island of Palm Beach, a fatal error in judgment it now seems.
At least one court case, Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial lawyer, Palm Beach, Florida attorney Gary W. Roberts, Esq. noted suggests that in a proper case, even friends who are sophisticated investors and professionals themselves may have their own personal financial liability exposure to others, even in the absence of having received payment for their investment or referral advice to others , perhaps even during the mirth of a charitable event in Palm Beach. With financial losses mounting and lives ruined, it is already clear that the Madoff controlled funds which have been seized by authorities have been already shown to be inadequate, causing former Madoff clients to seek innovative Florida legal counsel to challenge traditional theories of recovery and to responsibly pursue news accounts and rumor in the wake of this financial tragedy.
Attorney at law, Gary W. Roberts, Esq., a 35 year member of The Florida Bar, is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (now Florida Justice Association), legal author and lecturer on litigation issues and a Florida Bar Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer practicing with Gary Roberts and Associates, P.A., located in West Palm Beach, FL. The law firm specializes in civil trials before both State and Federal courts and juries.
