Missing millions, strippers and private jets: how the 'bad boy' of Wall Street went down

A broker known as Wall Street's "bad boy" has been convicted of defrauding US and European investors of $US140 million ($127 million), promising them rich returns while blowing their money on private jets, home renovations, prostitutes, strippers and classy London hotels, smh.com reports.

Ross Mandell, 53, shook his head throughout the reading of the verdict yesterday that convicted him of conspiracy and securities fraud charges. The jury also convicted a co-defendant, Adam Harrington, 41, of Miami. The Brooklyn born-Mandell was CEOchief executive officer of Sky Capital, which had offices in London, New York, Florida and New Jersey. Harrington was a senior broker for the firm.

The jury had deliberated over parts of three days during a five-week trial. After jurors left the courtroom, Mandell's sobbing wife hugged him for several minutes. US District Judge Paul A Crotty did not immediately rule on a request by prosecutors to jail Mandell as a flight risk, leaving him free on $US5 million ($4.6 million) bail.

The trial captured the hard-partying lifestyle brokers enjoyed during the dot-com boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. An exhibit introduced by prosecutors showed that Mandell charged $US162,000 ($147,000) on credit cards at adult entertainment clubs in London and New York from May 2001 through to January 2006.

Prosecutors portrayed Mandell and Harrington as con men, saying they capitalised on the excitement over internet tech stocks by using their broker-dealer operation to solicit private investments in startups. Prosecutors said the defendants spent some of the investors' money living lavishly with private jets, expensive vacations, fancy cars and flashy watches. They said the men manipulated the value of stocks they sold to investors in part by paying brokers 400 per cent commissions to promote the stocks.

The scheme came to an end when one of the brokers was caught lying to an FBI undercover officer…
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