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Madoff Lived in Fear
Convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff didn't think much of the SEC, but even he was stunned that they missed so many opportunities to catch him. In a prison interview released by the SEC's inspector general, David Kotz, Madoff said investigators hassled him over minor email exchanges while failing to examine basic questions about how he conducted his business. In particular, he was stunned never to have been asked about his Wall Street central clearinghouse account: “If you’re looking at a Ponzi scheme, it’s the first thing you do,” he said. Madoff described being constantly worried that the jig was up whenever dealing with investigators and two close calls in 2004 and 2006 had him convinced he was going to jail—only they passed without incident. “That was the nightmare I lived with,” he said. “I wish they caught me six years ago, eight years ago.”
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And with every lie - his nose got longer and longer and ......
"I wish they caught me six years ago, eight years ago."
This guy was handling billions of dollars of other people's money and yet, he had thoughts of a child about to be caught stealing cookies. The same with Enron and the other megacrooks before Madoff, only they arrogantly thought they were in the right. No wonder the financial meltdown happened.
It does sound to me that SEC officials were either as dumb as these crooks or there was an ongoing policy to pretend to examine but not to catch wrongdoing.
Analysts were aware of the Madoff pretense for years and the SEC was not. There was a German buyer for Enron but passed when the Enron books were made available. So, this buyer knew and U.S. officials did not. It all happened in the Bush era, though.
Madoff interview last August in the slammer
http://snipurl.com/syj14
The SEC officials and investigators should be in prison with Madoff.
I can imagine Madoff is relieved to have been caught. The stress of living with the knowledge you're a fraud yet having to appear cool and in charge. He knew the hammer would fall eventually, but when?
Federal Prison must be like a haven for him. It's like being imprisoned in a country club (the the term 'Club Fed'), He's fed 3x a day, someone else takes care of his housing and he's probably a cult figure to the other prisoners - who are non-violent offenders. Bernie should be in Attica.
Meanwhile his family and victims are left to deal with his mess.
the only reason people invested with bernie was because they were greedy. They would not accept the lower returns that are backed by legally enforceable repayment obligations like Bonds and CD's.
Instead the look to the stock market and worse they look to the magic trader that somehow, always beat the averages consistently.
bernie is a crook, yes, but look at the crime... he is not in jail for losing money - he had no legal obligation to make money. he is in jail for falsifying records. how ironic, if he lost billions by legally investing in high risk stocks he would be free today but he lost money by pretending to invest in stocks .
"That was the nightmare I lived with," he said. "I wish they caught me six years ago, eight years ago."...Bernie Madoff
Well, Mr Madoff, I'm so terribly sorry the SEC was incompetent and you had to live a "nightmare". And, I'm glad your wish to be caught came true. Everyone should get what they deserve. In your case, I hope you get even more than what you deserve. Bend over, honey.
This is a SEC Management, not just the auditor's fault. As a prior large corporate auditor, with CPA's, etc., as part of my audit team, I, and my senion managers, were responisble for reviewing & approving all audits. The Madoff failiure was primarly due to senior managers' politics and incompetence. Madoff was "too big to be a crook"!!
Poor Bernie!
And Mrs. Madoff should be in the pokey too instead of continuing to live the life of a multi-millionaire which they have let her do. So far. Aren't there any female crooks?
Not exactly.
She was thrown out of the condo into a smaller apartment.
And is too smart to access any of the stashed away millions.
And you betta believe THERE ARE STASHED AWAY MILLIONS.
Ruthie, the I-am-not-a-crook lady, left her $7 million penthouse with the clothes on her back, a straw hat and carrying a paper bag. She asked the marshalls if she could take one of her designer bags and they said no. She was kicked outta her Upper Eastside digs and then the locks were changed. She now lives in an undisclosed location.
She tried to go back and put a fur coat in a shopping back - they caught on.
I cry crocodile tears for you Mr. Madoff...
Thank you.
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