Jane Buchan is a rarity on Wall Street. Not only has she built a hugely successful hedge fund investment firm but the firm is also the only one that is, on paper, owned and run by women. Unfortunately, it now appears that the firm Pacific Alternative Asset Management Company (PAAMCO) was bankrolled by some of the biggest (male) names in the business, in order to disguise aspects of the business from customers, partners and federal regulators.

Questions:
1. What is this scandal all about in terms of ill-gotten gains? (Include some red flags of fraud and/or motives to commit this type of fraud.)
2. The case centers on whether Mr. Sussman had the right to convert a $2 million loan he made to Paamco’s founding partners in 2000 into an equity stake in Paamco’s parent company. What journal entry would Mr. Sussman make for this transaction, if credible?
3. What was Mr. Sussman’s previous history with the SEC and why is this important?

Source: Creswell, Julie. (2010). A Hedge Fund Controlled By Women, So It Claimed. The New York Times, October 18 (Retrievable online at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/business/19hedge.html)