When Bernard Madoff's epic Ponzi scheme first hit the news, many speculated that the scheme only began after Madoff's original, legitimate operation went bust. But evidence is now breaking that Madoff never invested legitimately: Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee in charge of liquidating Madoff’s assets says, "We have no evidence to indicate securities were purchased for customer accounts." That would make it a pure Ponzi scheme, fraud from start to finish. Picard said he has recovered $650 million so far and that victims will qualify for $500,000 from the Securities Investor Protection Corp.
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