Bernie Madoff Research Paper

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 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.

Bernard Lawrence “Bernie” Madoff born April 29, 1938. The founder of Bernie L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Madoff was the chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and admitted turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme.

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.

Bernie Madoff robbed his investors for billions of dollars, treated his family like toxic scum and is even responsible for his son's suicide. In other words, Madoff is just a bad dude. But there is more to this guy than Ponzi schemes and broken dreams. Let's dig a little deeper on this iconic criminal and discover some rare facts.

From about 1960 to the 1990’s, Madoff’s business grew like crazy, mainly from some well-known investors and friends. Because of all this Bernie became very successful very fast. This caused him to start getting greedy. In the 1990’s Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities began conducting illegal acts of fraud, Madoff started an illegal money-management business, promising his investors consistent returns. Investors were so interested in the high returns, that no one questioned Madoff or his strategy. In 2008, investors began requesting payouts for their investments and Madoff started to become very desperate for new funds. His strategy began to unravel and the truth of his actions started to come out, shocking many people. This case blew up like crazy and once investigators started looking into Madoff’s business they discovered all Madoff was doing was running a Ponzi scheme. He would take funds from new investors, and use that to pay off the older investors. While doing this Bernie was also pocketing a large portion of the money, causing this to be one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in

There is very little in the way except conjecture as to the motivation to why Madoff committed theses frauds for so long, and it appears that he is not telling either except that in 2009 where he said that in 2008 when admitting to his sons that his whole business was “just one big lie” to which the next day Madoffs sons reported him to authorities that led to his subsequent arrest. It seems as though it was not an attack of Madoffs conscious that led him to the confession, but it was because of the nature of how ponzi schemes work where the bulk of investors comprising the lower segment of investors pay for the few higher investors profits, which eventually there is no money left to pay back the vast majority of lower tier investors any profits since really the only money involved is the deposits from these investors themselves and not interest earned or investments (Henriques, 2009).

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.

Named after Charles Ponzi in 1919 a ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors, by taking money from new investors in order to pay older investors (Investopedia). It all started when Charles Ponzi guaranteed clients that he was able to bring customer 50 % roi in just 90 days (Business Insider). Madoff received money from new prospective investors, using the new money he received from investors he payed off old investors, who decided to stop investing with Madoff. This caused a huge asymmetric rift that favored Madoff greatly, because his reputation automatically attracted investors to his hedge fund, without investors knowing he was purposely stealing their money. A question remains why was this able to be to continue for so long?

Bernie Madoff came from a poor background after his parents emigrated from another country. He had the captivating story of someone coming from nothing and turning it into a lavish lifestyle. With the help of in-laws, he was able to invest in his dream of owning his own financial company. He made a name for himself by volunteering his time at Securities and Exchange Commission and being one of the first firms to use electronic trading. He was also a powerful figure in Washington, D.C. donating to the campaigns of both Republican and Democratic parties. While lobbying for stock market restructuring, he became a big figure among Wall Street and was treated like royalty at social events. He was able to manipulate some of the most wealthiest and

Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme is one of the most notorious scandal in financial and accounting industry. Over a period of fifty years, Bernie’s investment profiles had grown in reputation and confidence from tradespeople, with the fund mushroomed into a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. How could Bernie, from an unlicensed stockbroker, be so successful with his meticulous scheme and become a trustworthy investment advisor to many people, even to the sophisticated managers? I have to confirm that Bernie was really a genius in manipulating people. In other words, according to personality characteristics, he is a cunning Machiavellian. Using his manipulation skill, he persuaded his father-in-law and his brother to support him, buying his employees loyalty

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.

Introducing Bernard L. Madoff born April 29, 1938 in Queens, NY and is presently serving a one hundred fifty-year prison sentence. Who is this fraudster Bernard L Madoff also known as “Bernie” and what fraud did he commit? Bernie’s parents Ralph and Sylvia Madoff were Polish immigrants struggling and working during the Great Depression Era. In later years, his mother worked in finance as a broker-dealer for their company Gibraltar Securities. The SEC eventually forced the business to close due to non-reporting issues regarding the businesses financial condition. Around age twenty-two, Bernie Madoff started his own investment firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and was

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