Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence Madoff (April 29, 1938-April 14, 2021) has been identified as perhaps the operator of the largest financial fraud operation in history. His net worth at one time was estimated as approximately $64.8 billion.
Born in Queens, New York City, his family were emigrants from Poland, Romania, and Austria and practiced the Jewish faith.
Madoff attended the University of Alabama for one year prior to transferring to and graduating from Hofstra University in 1960 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. Madoff briefly attended Brooklyn Law School, but left after his first year to establish the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
Madoff’s investment firm employed his brother Peter Madoff as senior managing director and chief compliance officer. His two sons, Mark and Andrew, were also employed in the firm.
When his two sons learned that their father was running a massive Ponzi scheme, they notified authorities on Dec. 19, 2008. The following day, FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had previously conducted multiple investigations into Madoff’s business practices but had not uncovered the massive fraud.
The Madoff investment scandal defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars. After being arrested,…
