Bernie” Madoff is an American former businessman and former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock exchange who was convicted of operating a Ponzi scheme that has been called the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pled guilty to an 11-count criminal complaint, admitting to defrauding thousands of investors. Federal prosecutors estimated client losses, which included fabricated gains, of almost $65 billion. He had been confined to his Manhattan penthouse apartment during the investigation, and was subsequently incarcerated after his guilty plea. There was no plea deal with prosecutors. He faces spending the rest of his life in prison, and up to $170 billion in restitution.
According to Frontline, Madoff controlled about 9% of the entire stock exchange. What did investors know? What should the government and the investors known?
Watch “The Madoff Affair” on PBS
More Like This one:
