Harry Markpolo And The Bernie Madoff Case

One of the most famous quotes made by a white collar criminal in the midst of their downfall says, “Today, basically, on Wall Street, the big money is made by taking risks” (Top 9). The quote comes directly from historic Ponzi schemer himself, Bernie Madoff. Bernie Madoff, an infamous fraudster is well known for his astonishing $65 billion scam. Madoff, who is notoriously recognized by thousands of individuals makes for an attention-grabbing white collar criminal investigation. The shocking and unusual outcome of his case creates a thought provoking and captivating report. Most importantly his victims, in the thousands, encompasses and affects a vast population of America. Regrettably, countless victims today are still fighting for restoration, all while struggling to overcome from their losses. Overall, the scandalous Bernie Madoff case, damage/losses, outcome, and finally, the victims when combined creates an appealing white collar topic.

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.

Facts: In November 2008, the parties signed an employment agreement providing that Relator was to serve as the director of the school for the 2008-09 school year. The title of the agreement states the dates July 01/2008-June 30/2009. "The first sentence of the agreement lists the administrative positions to which the agreement applies and states, "This is a general at will agreement."(Ellis vs. BlueSky, 2010). Yet the agreement provides that "[p]ositions will automatically

In December 2008, one of the largest Ponzi scheme surfaced when Mark and Andrew Madoff reported the works of their father, Bernard Madoff to the federal authorities. A Ponzi scheme is an investing scam that promises high rates of return with little risk to investors. The operator generates returns for older investors by gaining new investors. Bernard was arrested on December 11, 2008 and charged with securities fraud. He pled guilty to 11 counts and was sentenced to 150 years in federal prison-the maximum possible prison sentence. A reported $17.3 billion was invested into the scam by Bernie’s clients and only about $2.48 billion have been returned to these victims as of September 2012.

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.

Bernie Madoff was one of the most prolific Ponzi-scheme artists in history. Madoff schemes netted him millions of dollars. Mr. Madoff used his BMIS Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities a New York Limited Liability company, to commit fraud, money laundering, and perjury. This is just a few things that Mr. Bernard Madoff has done to many innocent investors, who believed in Mr. Madoff, and everything he stated. Due to Mr. Madoff’s action he has changed so many people’s lives. Some have lost everything, some committed suicide, and others just humiliated by Mr. Madoff. This paper is to tell you about Mr.

Most people, when they hear the word “crime,” think about street crime or violent crime such as murder, rape, theft, or drugs. However, there is another type of crime that has cost people their life savings, investors’ billions of dollars, and has had significant impacts of multiple lives; it is called white collar crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines white collar crime as

In December 2008, the highly respected American businessman Bernard Madoff made the headlines when the US authorities accused him of orchestrating a $65 billions Ponzi scheme which is the biggest financial frauds of all time and made of him “ The Conman of the Century”.

In the case of Bernie Madoff this is perfect example of how unethical behavior can turn into corruption. Madoff, a former investment and stock broker, was formally introduced to the world as the 'sole' operator in the largest Ponzi scheme on record. Madoff turned his financial management company into a colossal Ponzi scheme that swindled billions, from thousands of his investors. In this paper we determine the regulatory oversight that was in place while the Ponzi scheme was operating, and speculate on the main reasons why they did not discover the scheme, we’ll look at investing in Madoff Securities and how to expose the potential fraud.

The Madoff case is an example of white collar crime. When most of us think of crime we do not think about someone in a professional setting, or for that matter, anyone that we trust with our money. Bernard Madoff was a business professional who ended up negatively impacting his life, the lives of his family, the lives of his investors, and the trust of investors in general by his unethical decisions. Some argue that the people that surrounded Bernard Madoff, both professionally and personally, should have known that he was conducting unethical practices. They believe that those surrounding him had to know of his wrong doing since they were benefiting from his bad practices and should be held accountable in addition to Madoff.

As long ago as 1999, an independent investigator, Harry Markopolos, concluded that Madoff’s success could not be legitimate. In 1995, he sent the US Securities and Exchange Commission a 17 page document titled: “The World’s Largest Hedge Fund Is a Fraud”. Two years later the SEC found no evidence of fraud after an investigation that seems to only involve just a little more effort than simply asking Madoff if he was a criminal or not, and then excepting his answer.

Bernard Madoff had full control of the organizational leadership of Bernard Madoff Investments Securities LLC. Madoff used charisma to convince his friends, members of elite groups, and his employees to believe in him. He tricked his clients into believing that they were investing in something special. He would often turn potential investors down, which helped Bernard in targeting the investors with more money to invest. Bernard Madoff created a system which promised high returns in the short term and was nothing but the Ponzi scheme. The system’s idea relied on funds from the new investors to pay misrepresented and extremely high returns to existing investors. He was doing this for years; convincing wealthy individuals and charities to

Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC operates as a securities broker/dealer in the United States and internationally. It provides executions for broker-dealers, banks, and financial institutions. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in New York, New York. As of December 15, 2008, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC is in liquidation.

In the year 1960, with money he earned installing sprinkler systems and as a lifeguard on the beaches of Long Island, Bernard Madoff founded “Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities,” a “trading power” house that would become one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry (Washington, 2012). In the year 2000 his company ranked among the top trading and securities firms in the nation. By age 70, his name had become legendary; he was considered to be one of the most “influential spokesmen” on Wall Street. But on December 11, 2008, Bernard Madoff was arrested and charged “in a 20 year Ponzi scheme, which would come to be known as “the most infamous fraud in Wall Street history (Leonard, 2008;