Ponzi

The Madoffs' Amex Bill

Armani splurges on the company tab.

Bernie Madoff's family may not have known about his Ponzi scheme, but they sure reaped its rewards: According to court records, Bernie Madoff’s relatives and employees routinely charged tens of thousands of dollars a month on his corporate American Express account. The New York Post reports that Madoff’s son, Mark, racked up nearly $81,000 in charges in July 2008, with more than $77,000 going into charter flights. Big-ticket items purchased by the high rolling family include $2,000 dropped at the Giorgio Armani store in Paris by the ponzi schemer’s wife, Ruth. Son Andrew went on a shopping spree at a Polo Ralph Lauren store in June 2008, spending almost $2,400 in a single visit. 18 people held cards for the corporate account, most of them firm employees, except for sister-in-law Marion Madoff, daughter-in-law Deborah West Madoff, and the captain of Madoff's yacht, Richard Carroll. Bernie’s sister-in-law’s name actually appears in the company’s payroll, with an annual salary of $163,500, although there is "no evidence," according to the records, that she did any work for the company.