Ex-SEC Lawyer Who Married into Madoff Family Said to be ‘Straight Arrow’
A former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission who married the niece of Bernard Madoff has been described as a “straight arrow” whose work in the investigation of his future wife’s uncle was relatively minor.
Former and current SEC officials told the New York Times that Eric Swanson handled no major parts of failed Madoff investigations that ended without charges. Madoff has since been accused of running a Ponzi scheme that resulted in $50 billion in losses for the investors of his hedge fund, leading SEC Chairman Christopher Cox to call for an examination of contacts between SEC staff and Madoff’s family.
According to the Times, no evidence has been found indicating that Swanson continued working on any Madoff investigations after he became involved with his future wife, Shana Madoff, who was the compliance lawyer for her uncle’s firm.
Former colleagues described Swanson as a “straight arrow, earnest by-the-book Midwesterner who worked long hours and received excellent job evaluations,” the story says. He left the SEC to become chief counsel for the financial services company Ameriprise and is now general counsel of BATS Trading.
His wife has told friends that she has suffered big financial losses because she had invested with her uncle.
