Bernard Madoff

For years, the trustee and Department of Justice pursued assets and net beneficiaries. The Madoff Victim Fund distributed more than 4 billion dollars to over 40,000 victims, in addition to other recoveries.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Suffering from end-stage kidney failure, Madoff applied for compassionate release. The judge refused in June 2020, citing in particular the exceptional seriousness of the crimes. Madoff died in prison in April 2021.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Madoff pleaded guilty to eleven federal crimes: securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail and wire fraud, money laundering, false statements, perjury, false SEC filings and theft from an employee benefit plan.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Accused

Judge Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to 150 years in prison. A forfeiture order of 170.799 billion dollars was also imposed.

Legal status — source text

150-year sentence and $170.799 billion forfeiture order

Attribution

Accused

Madoff attracted billions of dollars into a fictitious investment management operation and paid withdrawals by existing clients using funds from new investors instead of executing the advertised trading strategy.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

The investment advisory business produced false trading histories and account statements, creating the illusion that investors held profitable and liquid portfolios.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated

Specific warnings, including those from Harry Markopolos, were submitted to the SEC. The SEC Inspector General subsequently identified serious supervisory failures, while Madoff had provided false information.

Attribution

Directly implicated

The criminal case included three money laundering counts, including international transfers between the New York operations and a London entity.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

Among the eleven counts to which he pleaded guilty was theft of funds from an employee benefit plan entrusted to Madoff.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Attribution

Directly implicated

As clients demanded approximately 1.5 billion dollars in withdrawals and only a fraction of that amount remained available, Madoff finally revealed to his sons that the investment management operation was fraudulent.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Directly implicated