Bernard Madoff

Introduction: Bernie Madoff was a well-respected financier, his company Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC was very well known and even helped launch the Nasdaq stock market. Madoffs company was well trusted and he even had celebrity cliental such a Steven Spielberg, Kevin bacon, and Kyra Sedgwick. Madoff came from a low income family however, he was able to start his company from getting a $50,000 loan from his in-laws and he using money that he had saved from side jobs such as lifeguarding and installing sprinkler systems to found his company. The successfulness of Madoff’s company came from the company’s ability to adapt to change and us modern day computer technology. As his business grew he stated employing family members to help “His younger brother, Peter, joined him in the business in 1970 and became the firm 's chief compliance officer. Later, Madoff 's sons, Andrew and Mark, also worked for the company as traders. Peter 's daughter, Shana, became a rules-compliance lawyer for the trading division of her uncle 's firm, and his son, Roger, joined the firm before his death in 2006”(Bernard Madoff Biography 2016) Unfortunately on December 11th 2008 Bernie Madoff became well known for a whole new reason. He had been accused of performing an elaborate Ponzi scheme and he had been reported to the federal authorities by his own sons. A year later he admitted to the investigators that he had lost $50 billion dollars of his investors’ money and pled guilty to 11

Bernie Madoff began his career as an investment broker in 1960, where he legally bought and sold over-the-counter stocks not listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). From the 1960’s through the 1990’s, Madoff’s success and business grew substantially, mainly from a closed circle of known investors and friends through word of mouth. In the 1990’s Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities traded up to 10 percent of the NASDAQ on any given day. With the success of the securities business, Madoff started an illegal money-management business, promising his investors consistent returns from 10-12 percent, unheard of returns at the time, which should have tipped off most investors that something was amiss.

In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. Madoff said he began the Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s. However, federal investigators believe the fraud began as early as the 1980s, and that the investment operation may never

Private investors could have protect themselves by investigating Mr.Madoff‘s investment company first, checking them out to make sure they were up on top of everything. Pay attention

On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard Lawrence Madoff confessed that his vaunted investment business was all "one big lie," a Ponzi scheme colossal in volume and scope that cost investors $65 billion. Overnight, Madoff became the new poster child for Wall Street gall, greed and

On December 11, 2008, a Wall Street investor named Bernie Madoff was arrested for confessing to one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. Before that day, many people had never heard of Bernie Madoff or perhaps may not have even realized their life savings were invested through his firm. To the casual observer, the arrest was just another dirty banker being taken to court for his actions; but in reality, the arrest was devastating to financial institutions, government regulators, and the personal wealth of thousands of businesses, charities, and individuals. In all, Madoff defrauded investors of $20 billion. Having been a well respected leader and trusted advisor on Wall Street for years, friends, family, and customers never questioned his tactics even though the red flags had always been there. In the end, many people blamed the government for lack of regulation on Wall Street, but the truth is that everyone involved from the investment firms to the personal investors chose profit over due diligence.

Before the exposure of his scheme, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities seemed to be a normal investment firm (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). Bernie was a well-respected in the financial industry, evidenced by being named chairman of the NASDAQ and by being asked to testify before congress (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). Bernie’s brother, Peter served as the head of compliance in the legitimate trading side of the firm. While Peter was technically savvy, Bernie was anything but (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). His computer was set up to report financial news and nothing else (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). He didn’t have an email account, and it was said that “he could barely turn his computer on” (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009).

“Mr. Madoff 's crimes were extraordinarily evil." "The breach of trust was massive. “I simply do not get the sense that Mr. Madoff has done all that he could or told all that he knows. “These are all quotes given by the US district attorney Denny Chin that give a mere glimpse into the horrible impact that Bernie Madoff has had on 21st century American society. Madoff cheated investors worldwide in the biggest Ponzi scheme in American history stealing over sixty five billion dollars from his clients .His enormous ponzi scheme was essentially evil genius and because of this incredible con Madoff has become the face of fraud in the 21st century and someone who exemplifies the dark side of wall street. This is shown through the incredible

Bernie Madoff started his own market maker firm in 1960 and was an influential individual in the startup of the Nasdaq stock market. He also was on the board of National Association of Securities Dealers and an advisor to the Securities and Exchange Commission on trading securities. This extensive and impressive background in the investment industry allowed him to build and maintain the largest known Ponzi scheme is United States history. Under this Ponzi scheme, Madoff used the money coming in from new investors to pay the previous investors the promised 50% returns in 90 days. Investors would buy into Madoff’s investment plans and invest more money while more investors would join. The exact start date of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme is unknown,

Bernie Madoff ran one of the largest (if not the largest) and longest-running Ponzi scheme in the United States. The website BusinessInsider.com says Madoff made off with about $20 billion of investors’ money. He was very well-known and trusted in the financial industry. He even started his own investment firm in 1960 and helped start the Nasdaq stock market. He promoted his investment “profolio” to be highly exclusive, and even required a recommendation from a friend. He even kept the “intrest rate” of return at 10% to be more believable. But once the housing market crash occurred, tons of investors became nervous and asked for there money back. With $7 billion dollars of pending buy outs, and Madoff only having about $300 million there was no way Madoff could cover his fraudulent portfolio. He now is serving 150 years in prision due to his fraudulent

As part of the Ponzi scheme hosted by Madoff he promised investors consistent returns on their investment. With this promise and his position many investors were quick to place billions of dollars in his hands. This also draws the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, also known as the SEC, who somehow managed to let Madoff slip under the radar. Madoff also had relationships with several middlemen who were responsible for encouraging other wealthy individuals to invest in Madoff and in return these middlemen would receive a profit. Even down to the final week before Madoff confessed and the scandal broke, investors were still pouring millions into Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell). When an investor requested to withdrawal funds, he was quick to pay them with the funds invested by another individual. Madoff later admitted that he never invested any of his client’s

Bernard Madoff began his career like most any other investor. He started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. As he became more successful, greed began to take over and he started to get too big for his proverbial britches. He moved the company’s headquarters from Wall Street to the famous “Lipstick Building” on 3rd Avenue (Farrell, Fraedrich, & Farrell, 2015). As his credibility as an investor grew, so did the respect that others had for him. He became known and trusted as a highly knowledgeable investment specialist. Madoff appealed to the investors desires to feel like they were his only client. He used an invitation only approach and was very secretive about his business which created an air of exclusivity that lured many of his

In rewarding those that brought new investors to the firm, Bernard L. Madoff Securities, LLC grew exponentially. Add to the equation an advantage given to the firm by its advanced computerized trading operations and very quickly Bernie came to control the fortunes of many notable people and organizations. The allure of steady profits in the range of 10% annually was too

Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was very complex and operated on major scale. Typically scam artist would take money from new “investors” and use it to pay off existing investors. Eventually the scheme ends when there are no new

After Bernard Madoff, a former NASDAQ chairman, was arrested on December 11, 2008, he acknowledged that his performance was nothing but the Ponzi scheme. He pled guilty to the biggest investor fraud ever committed by anyone on March 12, 2009. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison.