Madoff Scandal

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.

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.

In March 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. Madoff said he began the Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s. However, federal investigators believe the fraud began as early as the 1980s, and that the investment operation may never

During its’ years of operations, Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BMIS) was regarded as a credible firm that provided it’s investors with consistent returns. Investors were satisfied with the results of BMIS, as the firm continued to do well even during downturns in the economy. This all changed in December of 2008, when the investors of BMIS came to realize their “returns” were nothing more than falsified words on paper.

Looking back it’s easy to see the mistakes made by the investors of Bernard Madoff, how he got the rich and famous to foolishly invest their money with very little or no due diligence. He made the return of 10 to 12 percent annually look so good that investors begged to be included. Who wanted want to be a part of the impenetrable financial products or the better than average returns offered by Mr. Madoff. Sadly, if investors had

The employees of the firm were Madoff’s family and friends. The chief of compliance was his younger brother, Peter. Madoff’s niece, Shana was the rules compliance attorney. Madoff’s sons were traders for the firm. His clients were wealthy and famous. Some of his clients included Steven Spielberg, Ringo Starr, Frank Lautenberg, and many more famous, rich individuals. They invested their life savings, and Madoff promised them high returns. Overall his clients had invested a total of $65 billon. (Kennedy, Adrienne A. Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, January,

This paper introduces Bernard L. Madoff a fraudster who orchestrated a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. The paper discusses elements that make up a Ponzi scheme and explains what a Ponzi scheme is. The paper goes on to introduce some of the victim’s and examines some reasons why someone might fall victim to a Ponzi scheme. The paper describes the three elements making up the fraud triangle and how they relate to the fraud and the fraudster. This paper covers Bernard Madoff’s background and history and how he committed the fraud analyzing the fraud triangle. The paper describes ways to correct the issue, accounting principles violated, and recommendations for a fix. Finally, the paper looks at internal and external controls violated and ends with a conclusion.

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.

Before the exposure of his scheme, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities seemed to be a normal investment firm (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). Bernie was a well-respected in the financial industry, evidenced by being named chairman of the NASDAQ and by being asked to testify before congress (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). Bernie’s brother, Peter served as the head of compliance in the legitimate trading side of the firm. While Peter was technically savvy, Bernie was anything but (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). His computer was set up to report financial news and nothing else (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009). He didn’t have an email account, and it was said that “he could barely turn his computer on” (Bandler & Varchaver, 2009).

Madoff reportedly admitted to investigators that he had lost $50 billion of his investors' money, and pled guilty to 11 felony counts—securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and theft from an employee benefit plan—on March 12, 2009. While the extent of his fraud is still being uncovered, prosecutors say $170 billion moved through the principal Madoff account over decades, and that before his arrest the firm's statements showed a total of $65 billion in accounts.

Mr. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme took careful coordinating and preparation to last as long as it did and to become the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He used his greed to entice the greed of his investors by offering them unrealistic

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.

On Dec. 11, 2008, Bernard Lawrence Madoff confessed that his vaunted investment business was all "one big lie," a Ponzi scheme colossal in volume and scope that cost investors $65 billion. Overnight, Madoff became the new poster child for Wall Street gall, greed and

What were the weaknesses in the “control environment” of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC?

The Madoff’s Ponzi scheme had consequences which affected all the society. In pratical terms, those consequeces were extended to assets management firms, commercial banks, financial services companies, charity organisations, among others. It has concerned several parts of the globe, such as the United States, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and several others.