In a complicated financial context in the United States due to the 2008 crisis, one of the biggest financial criminals in the history of the Anglo-Saxon country appeared on the scene: Bernard Lawrence Madoff.
The renowned financial guru pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to perpetrating the largest fraud in history. Sentenced to 150 years in prison, Madoff saw his empire collapse after a pyramid scheme of astronomical proportions was uncovered, leaving a hole of US$65 billion.
The Madoff story is a tale of betrayal and tragedy. Bernie’s own sons, Mark and Andrew, were in charge of turning him over to the authorities when they discovered that the business he had been running since, supposedly, 1990, was a sham.
This marked the beginning of a downward spiral that would end in disgrace for the Madoff family. Mark, 46, took his own life two years after his father’s arrest, while Andrew died of cancer in 2014.
However, the deaths of their children will not be the only ones that matter in this whole story. After the bomb exploded and banks, financial institutions and individuals lost billions, some suicides were revealed as a result of the great scam.
What the Bernie Madoff scam was like
The Bernie Madoff scam was a sophisticated scheme that operated for decades, Deceiving thousands of investors and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Using a pyramid scheme, Madoff convinced his clients that he was making huge profits in the market, when in fact he was using money from new investors to pay returns to old ones.
The scam depended on certain fundamental bases that were vital to the growth of such a “sketch book”. The first base was to add unlimited clients (something that was achieved and with great fortunes in the world). The second fundamental base, as in every Ponzi scheme, is that all investors do not want to withdraw the money from the investment at the same time. Given the crisis of 2007-2008 (the biggest after the one in 1930), many investors wanted to withdraw their funds, uncovering a pressure cooker.
“Imagine coming home every night and not being able to tell your wife, living with this guillotine hanging over your head without telling your children, your brother, seeing them every day in the office and not being able to confide in them what is happening,” Madoff said in a series of conversations with the journalist and editor of the magazine. New York, Steve Fishman.
Although this was discovered in 2008, it had already been clear for some years that Bernie’s empire had an expiration date. Harry Markopolos, an investment manager and expert in the market, had filed a complaint with the United States courts in 1999, declaring everything that was happening with the successful guru. However, it was not until nine years later that what Markopolos said was given importance, recognizing the validity of his complaint.
After at least 18 years of scams, Barbie’s big scam was revealed. Once the matter was cleared up, and after years of deceiving her family and clients, the million-dollar losses generated a wave of suicides that are also part of the dark plot.
In addition to the suicide of his son Mark, there were a few more, such as that of the former French financier Thierry de Villehuchewho decided to cut his wrists after losing between 1.5 and 2 billion dollars, which were his savings and those of his clients. In addition, the death of William Foxtonan English war veteran who shot himself for entrusting the “guru” with all of his family’s savings.
From his cell, Madoff confessed to having “destroyed his family,” the only remorse he seemed to harbor. Despite having caused the ruin of thousands of investors and caused suicides, the former financier showed little or no remorse for his actions. “They say I’m a sociopath, but I’m a good person. I confessed everything I did,” he excuses himself.
“I told them not to invest more than they could afford to lose: ‘This is the stock market, it can fail. I can do something stupid myself.’ They all understood that, but they are all greedy. It’s not an excuse, but that’s what happened,” Bernie said after his sentencing.
Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison
On June 29, 2009, Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prisonthe maximum permitted by law. This conviction marked the end of a saga that shook Wall Street. and exposed the corruption and greed that can exist in the world of finance.
Despite his conviction, Madoff seemed to find some comfort in prison, even monopolizing the chocolate market in prison to speculate on prices; the old Wall Street fox needed to continue doing his thing behind bars. Even, according to journalist Steve Fishman, Bernie was a kind of idol or hero among all the convicts in the prison, which made his stay in the cell more bearable. However, his health deteriorated over time, and at 82 years old he requested house arrest, a request that was denied.
Madoff spent his final days alone in a hospital, however, and passed away on April 14, 2021. Despite the crimes he committed, Madoff is still remembered as one of the greatest fraudsters of all time, whose legacy will be hard to forget.
Source: Ambito
