By:  Lynn Green

I have good news. John Rogers and Mellody Hobson of the investment firm, Ariel are not involved in the Madoff scandal, as their company is not the same Ariel that is connected to the Madoff Ponzi scheme.

That is a relief because the owners of the Chicago based Ariel are black and black folks don’t need to be tied up in that mess.

Remember that a few days ago I printed an article and indicated in the article that someone from that company needs to contact me if the two Ariels are related or unrelated.

I got the following message today:

Question: Is the Ariel Fund managed by John W. Rogers, Jr., the same entity referenced in the recent Bernard Madoff and J. Ezra Merkin news articles?

Answer: No.

Ariel Investments (which is comprised of the no-load mutual funds—Ariel Fund, Ariel Appreciation Fund and Ariel Focus Fund) is neither affiliated, associated nor in any way related to the hedge fund controlled by J. Ezra Merkin, Ariel Fund Ltd, Gabriel Capital LP fund, GMAC LLC, Cerberus Capital Management LP or any other feeder funds used by Bernard Madoff in his alleged Ponzi scheme.

To avoid any confusion, we have formally issued a cease and desist notice to the use of our name and registered trademark by J. Ezra Merkin’s entities.