It's not what you think. The earned money never existed. The hedgefund gambled away or stole the rest. Clearing houses (I think is the name), IE the people who actually let the hedgefunds trade using their connection to the stockmarket (once actual traders on the NYSE floor), started demanding daily reports like they were supposed to be issuing all along. This exposed all the fake positions that the hedgefunds are holding (aka, selling stocks/options/futures they don't have).