I mean, minus Bernie and Ezra …
…The [fraud] charge [against Merkin] highlights the dangers charities face if they overlook governance practices and conflicts of interest, like investing with businesses run by board members. Deep losses incurred by charities invested through Merkin reveal how several boards fell down on their job.
Yeshiva University invested $110 million, or 8% of its endowment, with Merkin’s Ascot Partners LP, which had the bulk of its assets invested in Madoff. Both Madoff and Merkin served on boards at the university, Merkin as chairman of the board’s investment committee.
“No member of a nonprofit board should benefit in a financial way from serving a charity,” said Marian Stern, a nonprofit consultant and adjunct assistant professor at the George Heyman Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising at New York University. …