General Electric (GE) shares fell Thursday following Bernard Madoff whistleblower, Harry Markopolos, targeting the company in a report alleging the corporation covered up a massive amount of losses in financial documents, according to the Washington Post.
A forensic accountant, Markopolos posted a 175-page report, which is being circulated on a website called GEFraud.com. The reporting alleges that GE is committing $38 billion in accounting fraud. He calls this a “bigger fraud than Enron,” and declares GE is using similar fraud tactics. After the release of the report, GE stock dropped 4.3% in premarket trading, according to Reuters. (RELATED: European Markets Worsen With No Resolution In US-China Trade War)
A whistleblower who warned regulators about Bernie Madoff released a report alleging that General Electric is short on cash and hiding $38 billion in losses, calling it a “bigger fraud than Enron” https://t.co/CmTMZ1e7VK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 15, 2019
“[I]t’s the biggest, bigger than Enron and WorldCom combined,” the report goes on to say. “In fact, GE’s $38 Billion in accounting fraud amounts to over 40% of GE’s market capitalization, making it far more serious than either the Enron or WorldCom accounting frauds.”
Markopolos and his team published the allegations after a year’s worth of research.
“My team has spent the past 7 months analyzing GE’s accounting and we believe the $38 Billion in fraud we’ve come across is merely the tip of the iceberg,” Markopolos stated in the 175-page report. (RELATED: Bad Bets On Power Sector End With GE Firing Its CEO)
GE acknowledges the report exists. However, it claims to have not seen it. GE responded to these allegations by saying the company “stands by its financials” and the reporting of its financial documents are run in the “highest level of integrity.”