Bernie Madoff

I know I talked to you about this on msn, but to keep the discussion going:

These people entered a contract the Madoff would either invest or do something else with their money. He didn't fulfill these things, plain and simple. (I don't know exact details, sorry)
It's different than simply having somebody do your investments and then having those investments fail.

 

I don't know exactly how this scam worked, but to be able to pull it off he must be very smart.

A shame he used his intelligence on being a criminal.

I think he deserved his crime, but really a 25 year sentence wouldn't be any differance, he'll be dead by the end of it.

 

Unbeliavble. I wonder if someone will kill him in prison.

 

It's not uncommon to trust other people with your money, most people aren't going to suspect a ponzi scheme to be honest. The sentence is just. He knew what he was doing, and this will deter anyone from ever trying this again.

 

Or the next person to do it will do it smartly, and get away with it.

Your not the best till you get away with it.

 

He did do it "smartly"- it took awhile to actually catch him. Thing is, a pyramid scheme is always going to be instantly recognizable when it hits the last people (the people who don't get paid) no matter how well you orchestrate it. Then, they just trace it back up. Same as they did for Madoff.

 

So if you go to a bank to deposit money, and the teller steals that money, then it's perfectly fine becuase you trusted him/her with your money.

 

So I take it you keep all your money in your closet instead of a bank?

 

He most likely will die before he begins his prison sentence like that head from Enron did. I don't get why he sons reported him but yet were taking loans from him and were aware of how he got his money(or very dumb). He is 79 btw right? I think its harsh, but he did swindle peopels life savings for years? I wouldn't care if it was big wall street guys, but it hit alot of lesser peopel too.

 

I wonder how his wife got out of being put in jail as well.

 

No, im not gambling the money.

Most of my money is kept in a fireproof lockbox, actually.

 

I don't get how rapists, child molesters, and people who commit violent crimes in general get less than someone who stole money. Yes, he ruined lives, but I'm sorry.. stealing money is much less serious than some other crimes that people get much less time in prison for.

 

... The Ponzi scheme is different from the pyramid scheme. The Ponzi scheme uses cash from new investors to pay dividends to old investors, so it looks like profits are soaring. In a pyramid scheme, every "investor" lures a new batch of potential investors for a cut of all future entry fees. A multilevel-marketing scam has "reps" sell some product but entices them with commissions on sales of those they, in turn, recruit.

He didn't just "steal money" Eric, he is solely responsible for ruining thousands of peoples lives by turning them into eternal debt. That is worse than just ruining one persons life.

 

Heaven, he didn't kill anyone.

So now money is more important than your life?

 

He made their lives hard, yes, but he didn't ruin them. You can always recover from being in debt.. And there will always be people that will help you out when you're low on money; especially if you were once rich, as most of the people who were effected were.

The crimes I mentioned, on the other hand, can not be righted. They can't be undone and there is nothing anybody can do to help the person affected.

 

You think it's a little too extreme? This guy ruined so many peoples lives, they'll be emotional and financially scarred for life. I say we give him the death sentence.

 

I don't understand you people...

I don't even think half of you know what a ponzi scheme is.. The people who he took money from GAVE him the money. Sure, some of them probably gave him their life savings, but that doesn't mean that they are going to be homeless. If you have millions of dollars saved up, you're probably going to be able to recover and live a somewhat comfortable life even after losing the money.

 

.... Of course they gave him the money, but not specifically him. They gave his investment firm money. Do you not understand how investments work? He was the CFO of the NASDAQ exchange, also just because he was a billionaire does not mean his investors were, they were just regular innocent people who trusted their life savings with an investment firm, not millionaires.

 

God, I can't believe he got 150 years in jail. So pointless.
He isn't a threat to anybody - nobody is in safer because he's in jail. Taxpayer money is being wasted, for what? To keep an old man in jail? His victims are getting nothing and taxpayers will be losing money.
I say let him go, maybe he'll do something productive and can help pay back his victims.

And calling stealing all that money worse than rape or murder is obscene.

 

They took all his land, and such to pay people back. Even when his wife claimed she inherited it they still took it away.