Red Team Senator Tommy Tuberville is in the news for holding up military promotions during a time of increased global conflict as well as manufacturing a social media threat from former CIA Chief Michael Hayden.
The former Auburn and Texas Tech head football coach co-founded a hedge fund, TS Capital Partners and various TS Capital corporations. Tuberville was the "T" in TS Capital and his "S" partner was convicted of fraud.
By July 2009, Tuberville was the subject of a Birmingham News story that touted him as an "amateur stock guru." In the story, Tuberville is reported as working at TS Capital Partners, looking to "drum up a little business for a big-time hedge fund run by Stroud Capital."
Tuberville's defense was essentially he was too dense to understand fraud was actually occurring.
"It is important to note that Coach Tuberville himself invested significant funds and has never received any return from his own investment."Never received any return from his own investment? That may help explain his June 2022 position on cryptocurrencies and retirement funds.
....the DOL says cryptocurrencies carry “significant risks of fraud, theft, and loss…”
Tuberville, however, says the DOL guidance undermines the ability of retirement plan participants to personally control how their assets are invested through brokerage windows.
Anyone putting their retirement money into FTX token FTT would have lost 96% of their investment between June 2022 and today.
Flashback to TS Capital's offering memorandum:
The “Offering Memorandum” presented to investors said Tuberville himself “is responsible for the investment direction, capital raising, and the day-to-day oversight of business decisions of TSCM. In this capacity, Mr. Tuberville provides the fund with strategic direction and guidance while overseeing investment opportunities. Mr. Tuberville also evaluates and researches each private equity investment opportunity considered by TSCM.”That language makes Tuberville a private equity underwriter (PEU). Former CIA Michael Hayden is also a PEU as principal for The Chertoff Group.
The Chertoff Group offers growth capital through a private equity fund, MC2 Security Fund, managed by our affiliate, MC2 Investment Management, LLC.
When sued PEU boys go from the smartest guys in the room to the most clueless.
Tuberville told a reporter this: “I’m not smart enough to understand all the numbers.”
Tuberville's investment acumen increased greatly as a member of the Senate. His net worth is at least $4.5 million and he has been an active trader in areas covered by his Senate committee membership. Some investments raised insider trading questions.
Tuberville is doing just fine for himself.
It is not a crime to be not very smart. It is not a crime to be somewhat careless.
The people of Alabama may wish to take note.
Update: Former CIA Chief Michael Hayden was appointed to the board of Freedom Consulting Group, a private equity backed firm serving the intelligence and national security community.
Update 10-12-23: FTX transferred $500 million in crypto to a USB stick to prevent hackers from stealing it. FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried told Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison giving her an equity stake in the hedge fund "was too complicated." Ellison testified that she gave “dishonest” balance sheets to lenders that concealed billions of dollars in funds that had been siphoned from FTX customer accounts.
From February 2022 to July 2022, the CFTC said Voyager "engaged in a scheme to defraud customers by misrepresenting the safety and financial health of the Voyager digital asset platform. "While representing they would treat customers’ digital asset commodities safely and responsibly, behind the scenes, they took shockingly reckless risks with their customers’ assets, leading to Voyager's bankruptcy and huge customer losses," CFTC Enforcement Director Ian McGinley in a statement on Thursday.
Update 10-29-23: Tuberville said the Blue Team created wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. That brings back memories of the Red Team congressman who said Japan was an ally in WWII. Tuberville, blubberville....
Update 11-2-23: Fellow Red Team Senators blasted Tuberville on the Senate floor for holding up uncontroversial military promotions. Coach overworked one officer to the point of a heart attack.
A member of Tuberville's team suggested anyone working an end around on his boss' block would be primaried.
Update 11-3-23: Coach blocked his own team in advancing 61 individual military promotions.
Tuberville had previously said he wouldn't object to votes on individual nominees.
Previously, Tuberville was an "amateur stock guru" who partnered with a fraudster (but couldn't figure that out).
FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of fraud.
Update 11-29-23:
