Bernie Madoff 2008 (Ponzi Scheme)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madoff_investment_scandal


This scandal does not compare to the others that are listed in this blog. When Bernie Madoff admitted that his firm had been operating a Ponzi scheme for years, millions of people were stunned. This includes his wife, Ruth, and his two sons, Mark and Andy. His own brother, Peter, denies knowing anything about the secretive scheme that Bernie thought up. Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme affected 4,800 investors and $65 billion lost that belong to multiple charities, banks, middle class hard working people, and celebrities. Such celebrities were Kevin Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgewick, Zsa Zsa Gabor, John Malkovich, and Steven Spielberg.

Bernie Madoff , a former NASDAQ chairman and founder of the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, admitted to the largest accounting scandal in history. On December 11, 2008, Mr. Madoff sons alerted authorities of their father's Ponzi scheme that estimated to $65 billion in fraud money. Madoff was arrested and sentenced to 150 years in prison with $170 billion in restitution.

In court, Madoff confessed that he started his scheme in the early 1990's. As the economic recession hit, Madoff wanted to satisfy his clients by reporting to his investors that their money was profiting. However, Madoff took his clients money, put it into his own account at Chase Manhattan Bank, provided a withdrawal statement to his clients, upon request, and convinced them that they were profiting from their investment. The client's money, of course, collected no interest.

Madoff was born in Queens, New York and known to many as a quiet, nice, sweet man who could do no wrong. However, Bernie as up to his neck in debt and numerous fraudulent activity. Bernie stole from employment benefit plan, committed securities, wire, mail, and investment advisor fraud and other illegal "so-called" investments.

Bernie's scams affected more than his clients loss or money but affected their lives. Many clients lost all of their life savings, retirement, and material items such as homes and automobiles. But the greatest lost of all is life, Three of Bernie's clients committed suicide because of the tremendous financial strain that they suffered.  Rene'-Thierry Magon de la Villehucht, of New York City and founder of Access International Advisers LLC, slit his wrist because he felt responsible for the decision of investing with Bernie Madoff after being warned of Bernie's suspicious money transactions. William Foxton, a British soldier, shot himself in a park in Southampton England. He lost his entire family's savings. But the hardest suicide to accept was that of Mark Madoff, Bernie's oldest son. Mark ousted his father, along with Andy his younger brother, to authorities concerning Bernie's scam. Mark could not handle what his father had done to Mark, his family and thousands of other across the globe. Mark consumed himself with the media and finally hung himself.