Disgraced financier,
Bernard Madoff
The sentence to 150 years in jail of the American financier, Bernard Madoff last Monday 29 June 2009 brought some kind of closure to the many people who he defrauded. Many of these people have lost their lifetime savings and are about to retire. Just imagine what their lives would be like, penniless in the twilight of their years?
The Ponzi scheme created by Madoff was only discovered when the recession started in 2008. Investors were scared and they wanted to cash in their investments only to discover that there was no money to be paid to them. The earlier years were good as they received consistently "high return" because there were new investors, individual and institutional, who had provided the money through their investments! The "fund" just collapsed when investors, in large numbers, liquidate their investments and at the same time there was hardly any new investors to prop up the fund. Had the recession not set in, the scheme would have continued.
If you had your investment now with the Madoff's fund, you are not likely to get it back.
Madoff got away with this fraud because he had built around him an air of "trustworthiness". Operating right at the centre of the world financial hub, ex non-executive chairman of NASDAQ stock exchange, a philantropist and a respectable member of an elite club in Palm Beach, Florida. Who could have suspected the fraud that he was? His fund was investigated twice by the SCR (Security Commission Regulator) and "found" nothing irregular despite an independent investigator's report that Madoff's fund was actually a Ponzi scheme! SCR has failed in its duty to protect the investors and should be restructured to regain public confidence.
Madoff at 71, can look forward to spending the rest of his life in jail for causing massive financial problems to the people who trusted him. His wealth creation activities were both unlawful and morally wrong. They also have worldwide ramifications.
The Ponzi scheme created by Madoff was only discovered when the recession started in 2008. Investors were scared and they wanted to cash in their investments only to discover that there was no money to be paid to them. The earlier years were good as they received consistently "high return" because there were new investors, individual and institutional, who had provided the money through their investments! The "fund" just collapsed when investors, in large numbers, liquidate their investments and at the same time there was hardly any new investors to prop up the fund. Had the recession not set in, the scheme would have continued.
If you had your investment now with the Madoff's fund, you are not likely to get it back.
Madoff got away with this fraud because he had built around him an air of "trustworthiness". Operating right at the centre of the world financial hub, ex non-executive chairman of NASDAQ stock exchange, a philantropist and a respectable member of an elite club in Palm Beach, Florida. Who could have suspected the fraud that he was? His fund was investigated twice by the SCR (Security Commission Regulator) and "found" nothing irregular despite an independent investigator's report that Madoff's fund was actually a Ponzi scheme! SCR has failed in its duty to protect the investors and should be restructured to regain public confidence.
Madoff at 71, can look forward to spending the rest of his life in jail for causing massive financial problems to the people who trusted him. His wealth creation activities were both unlawful and morally wrong. They also have worldwide ramifications.
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2 comments:
Hi! Marcella,
I've added your good site's link in My friends' site. Hope the same from you. :)
Good day!
AC, thanks. I have added yours earlier on.
You too have a good day :)
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