September 20, 2010 7:48 AM
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Marc Dreier's $400M Scam, The Inside Story
Dreier had collected a business card from the lawyer he was claiming to be, but the man he was supposed to meet with sensed that there was something wrong.
Asked what he thinks made the man in Toronto suspicious, Dreier said, "You know, he had acted diligently, and he made some phone calls which I think led him to be suspicious. I knew as soon as he walked in that he was suspicious, but I still did it."
The police in Toronto were called, and Dreier was arrested for impersonation. When he returned to New York five days later, he was apprehended by the FBI on charges of fraud and money laundering, to the complete and utter astonishment of the New York legal community and to the employees of his own law firm.
"When we heard the news we thought it was a joke at first," attorney Joanne Rapuano told Kroft.
"There were ten floors of attorneys and boxes. But a lot of people started to resign immediately. They just walked out the door," longtime office manager Tori LaLonde added.
Ten days after Dreier's arrest, the law firm bearing his name had declared bankruptcy and 600 people were looking for work.
The day 60 Minutes met Rapuano and LaLonde, the firm's furniture and office equipment were being sold off by the court to pay off the creditors, mostly hedge funds and their investors who are not likely to see much of the missing $400 million.
Asked what it was like being back at the firm, Rapuano said, "Truly tragic. You know, you watch something get built. You think you're part of something on its way up. And all of the sudden you see it being carted out the front door."
"It's just disgraceful," LaLonde said. "We are victims. I have no job. I have no medical after today. I'm done. So, now what do I do? Start my career all over?"
"I don't want to compare you with Madoff, but one of the questions that people ask about Madoff, constantly, is: How could he do this? How could he walk around living this life spending all this money, never showing a crack in the façade? And there are some similarities. How did you deal with that?" Kroft asked Marc Dreier.
"I was doing a lot of things at the same time. I was engaged in a fraud, which took a lot of energy to sustain. But I was also running a law firm - a legitimate law firm, other than, obviously, the obvious fact that it was funded illegitimately. I was a practicing lawyer; I was handling my own cases in court, which took a lot of energy. I almost didn't have enough time to dwell on the elephant in the room, which was the very - you know - the crime I was engaging with to keep all this up," he replied.
He has plenty of time to dwell on it now. After entering his guilty plea, Dreier has begun serving his 20 year prison sentence.
He wanted everyone he hurt to know that he was profoundly sorry. And for someone so obsessed with his own image and what people thought about him, his punishment is just beginning.
"I've lost everything I own. I've lost my business, I've obviously lost my reputation. I've caused my family obviously enormous unhappiness. And I have nothing," Dreier said.
Asked if he has any friends now, Dreier said, "Doesn't seem so."
Produced by Ira Rosen
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. Asked what he thinks made the man in Toronto suspicious, Dreier said, "You know, he had acted diligently, and he made some phone calls which I think led him to be suspicious. I knew as soon as he walked in that he was suspicious, but I still did it."
The police in Toronto were called, and Dreier was arrested for impersonation. When he returned to New York five days later, he was apprehended by the FBI on charges of fraud and money laundering, to the complete and utter astonishment of the New York legal community and to the employees of his own law firm.
"When we heard the news we thought it was a joke at first," attorney Joanne Rapuano told Kroft.
"There were ten floors of attorneys and boxes. But a lot of people started to resign immediately. They just walked out the door," longtime office manager Tori LaLonde added.
Ten days after Dreier's arrest, the law firm bearing his name had declared bankruptcy and 600 people were looking for work.
The day 60 Minutes met Rapuano and LaLonde, the firm's furniture and office equipment were being sold off by the court to pay off the creditors, mostly hedge funds and their investors who are not likely to see much of the missing $400 million.
Asked what it was like being back at the firm, Rapuano said, "Truly tragic. You know, you watch something get built. You think you're part of something on its way up. And all of the sudden you see it being carted out the front door."
"It's just disgraceful," LaLonde said. "We are victims. I have no job. I have no medical after today. I'm done. So, now what do I do? Start my career all over?"
"I don't want to compare you with Madoff, but one of the questions that people ask about Madoff, constantly, is: How could he do this? How could he walk around living this life spending all this money, never showing a crack in the façade? And there are some similarities. How did you deal with that?" Kroft asked Marc Dreier.
"I was doing a lot of things at the same time. I was engaged in a fraud, which took a lot of energy to sustain. But I was also running a law firm - a legitimate law firm, other than, obviously, the obvious fact that it was funded illegitimately. I was a practicing lawyer; I was handling my own cases in court, which took a lot of energy. I almost didn't have enough time to dwell on the elephant in the room, which was the very - you know - the crime I was engaging with to keep all this up," he replied.
He has plenty of time to dwell on it now. After entering his guilty plea, Dreier has begun serving his 20 year prison sentence.
He wanted everyone he hurt to know that he was profoundly sorry. And for someone so obsessed with his own image and what people thought about him, his punishment is just beginning.
"I've lost everything I own. I've lost my business, I've obviously lost my reputation. I've caused my family obviously enormous unhappiness. And I have nothing," Dreier said.
Asked if he has any friends now, Dreier said, "Doesn't seem so."
Produced by Ira Rosen
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