Bernie Madoff 's Compliance Department

What were the weaknesses in the “control environment” of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC?

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.

December 11th, 2008 started out like an average work day for Eleanor Squillari, secretary for Mr. Bernie Madoff, at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. After reaching her desk she received a call from Ruth Madoff, who sounded rather lifeless instead of her usually upbeat self. Ruth was inquiring whether her sons had made it into the office; Eleanor informed her that they hadn’t, while in the back of her mind she kept thinking about Ruth’s strange voice. However, she didn’t question it but continued her day, going on her regular rounds. As she descended to floor 18 she observed that the conference room was full of serious men is suits, all surrounding Peter Madoff, Bernie’s bother. “Strange,” she noted, along with why Bernie still hadn’t shown up. She was interrupted by a big man in a trench coat walking in her direction, but she questioned him first. He responded by flashing his badge and yelling “F.B.I!” “What’s happening? Was someone kidnapped? ” she didn’t know where to start, but her confusion was resolved when Peter 's secretary walked over. Looking stunned, she said "They 're saying that Bernie was arrested for fraud." “No, that’s not true!” Eleanor replied, but Peter walked by and reaffirmed it. She was shocked; for twenty years she never noticed anything about the international White Collar crime that was run right under her nose (Seal, Squillari).

Another important factor to consider is if each of the organization's employees is being treated fairly. An organization should ensure that they create and follow a code of ethics in which employees feel that both the employee and the employer are held accountable and encouraged to be ethical in treatment to one another. This translates as a feeling by employees that the employer trusts them in their jobs and professions and that all employees are treated fairly and justly in all actions and company pursuits. This means that each employee should be treated

Protecting employees against reprisals when they report, in good faith, actions they feel violate the law or these standards.

Signatures are obtained on the Verification of Training forms and are to be submitted to Human Resources for retention in the employee’s personnel folder. Employee misconduct will be monitored in by supervisory review of actions taken by employees, by conducting yearly surveys and also by implementing a reporting system. In our monitoring, we will be reviewing compliance and targeting deviations to our established ethical behavior. When the method of surveys is utilized, they will be nameless and must be completed within the thirty day allotted time. One feature of our reporting system is the establishment of our APEX Ethics Hotline, (800) 555-5555. This line is monitored by the Ethics Office and is open to anyone, the public, employees and customers to anonymously report unethical behavior or to ask ethics questions. With this system we are able to effectively monitor and evaluate unethical behavior and to take corrective action as required. The Ethics Officer compiles this data monthly and reports to the CEO with the trends and analysis.

Effective healthcare organizations routinely monitor and audit compliance performance. The processes ensure that the organization complies with regulations and uncovers compliance risks.

Disciplinary action is also used to correct unethical behavior within the organization. “Discipline may take the form of oral warnings, written warnings, probation, suspension, demotion, discharge, removal or some other disciplinary action, in no particular order” (New Moms Employee Handbook p. 33, 2015). The disciplinary action depends on the offense, but not limited to some. If there is an employee or participant that has been sexually harassed, or if they feel that their sense of well-being is in danger (law-enforcement may be involved if necessary), termination is the end

What is right or wrong? People base their values of right and wrong on what they have learned from their experiences (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2018). What one person sees as wrong, may be a normal for another. Most people are taught to work hard, save money, and invest for a future retirement. However, when it comes to money, some people lose all principles and standards of behavior. There were several ethical issues in the Madoff case. They include: stealing, cheating, lying, misrepresentation, and deliberate deception. Madoff used the Ponzi scheme or the money pyramid to make his money. In the Ponzi scheme, money was taken from new investors and given to existing customers as earning without being invested. Was this right or wrong? Throughout this case study ethical concerns can be seen on both sides, the investors and Madoff’s.

Many times in a Ponzi scheme the offender targets people they do not know personally but not Madoff. He had family, friends, employees and even charities and non-profit organizations as investors. “He tapped local money pulled in from country clubs and charity dinners, where investors sought him out to casually plead with him to manage their savings so they could start reaping the steady, solid returns their envied friends were getting” (Colesanti, 2012). “Levy invested $100,000” for Dell’Orefice, who felt honored to be a part of the “exclusive fund” (Lewis, 2010). Sheryl Weinstein, who was a friend of Madoffs for nearly 24 years, lost her entire savings to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. “The charitable foundation of philanthropist Carl Shapiro had invested about 45 percent of its assets ($345 million) in Madoff's fund” (Auerbach, 2009). It is “estimated that Madoff's scam cost Jewish philanthropies at least $600 million, and

It is very clear that Bernard Madoff’s corporate governance wasn’t effective at all. They didn’t have any governance mechanism for identifying risks and for planning for recovery when mistakes or problems occurred.

Keeping all the employees of a company within the guidelines of compliancy is probably one of the crucial and difficult pieces to keep up to standard. Ethics and Compliance in Health Care Training applies to all employees, as any employee is capable of making violations and therefore jeopardizing the overall service of the company. Annual education or periodical refreshers is one way to safeguard a company from vagabond employees. Additionally, having the measures in place will help protect the company as well, as the U.S. Justice Department takes into account the efforts done by the company to educate employees regarding ethical practices and healthcare

In the workplace as well as one’s personal life is essential for ethics to be maintained; often taking the right action is not always the most popular choice. It is important for maintaining an upstanding ethical code of conduct to be a productive individual as well as function as an employee in the workplace.

Madoff was able to align himself with wealthy individuals, leaders involved in foundations, business entities, and government. This gave him unlimited access to different groups of investors. Among Madoff’s Ponzi scheme victims, it is easy to find wealthy individuals, charitable organizations, and its stakeholders, such as employees, communities, vendors, and even the government.

Operated through a complex, cryptic structure Bernie Madoff, CEO of Bernie L. Madoff Investment Securities (BMIS), perpetuated the most embellished Ponzi scheme the world has ever seen. The basis of the securities fraud that took place approximately between 1991 – 2008 was influenced by Bernie Madoff’s reliance upon an unqualified staff, outdated software, organizational seclusion, a personal halo effect, and weaknesses in the regulating body. Madoff had the confidence of the public, yet to pull off such an elaborate scheme, he relied on a startling number of family members, vital accomplices working on the illegal trading floor such as Frank D. Pascali, IT staff members, and a separate BMIS branch of international employees