Bernard L. Madoff - Giant Ponzi Scheme

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Bernard L. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and a fixture of the Wall Street trading world for decades, was arrested Thursday morning by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and charged with criminal securities fraud by federal prosecutors in Manhattan.

The criminal complaint filed against Mr. Madoff alleges that he told senior employees Wednesday that his business was "a giant Ponzi scheme," according to a person familiar with the matter.

The alleged scheme involved tens of billions of dollars, but the extent of investor losses wasn't immediately clear.

The disclosure came after Mr. Madoff tried to distribute early bonuses to employees of his firm, prompting questions by senior employees, a person familiar with the situation said.

Mr. Madoff, 70 years old, allegedly told employees he had a couple of hundred million dollars left and wanted to distribute it before turning himself in to authorities, this person said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to file parallel civil charges against Mr. Madoff."

Here we go again. This fraud has been said to total over TWENTY BILLION DOLLARS!

Where will it end? Sure has been a big week for crime and corruption.

Image via WikipediaSeems like when I was young the rich people were Doctors. They had a nice house and maybe a couple of cars. And their kids had the best toys. Most everyone, so I thought, worked hard, paid their bills and had some fun. Really didn't know any better. There were some that were better off than others, but mostly the same.

Now there are some definite dividing lines. Doctors wish that they were rich. They are not much better off than regular people. There is a new class. The Super Rich. Their poop doesn't stink and they don't have the same set of values and rules that we do. They have a lot of time and money on their hands.

And then at the other end there is a thick line as well for the other new class. The Super Choose To Be Poor. They have realized that there is a world where you do not have to work. You only need to educate yourself in the best way to get a free ride. Work the system and never have to worry about a thing. They have a lot of time and money on their hands.

Wait a minute! I am starting to see a pattern. Some people have way too much time on their hands. Time to think up and commit crimes.

Maybe everyone should have to work if they want to eat. And I am talking real work. Not that work for for 5 minutes and have enough money to eat for the rest of your life.

Maybe they should all be like the unchanged middle class. They get up, go to work, eat dinner, go to bed, and then start it all over again. They do not even have the time to think this stuff up, let alone do it!

So Bernard Madoff has put together what may be one of the largest "ponzi" schemes ever. Seems to me that it is just a little too casual to him? The man is 70 years old. He should be sitting home sipping red wine and waiting for the grand kids to come over and visit. Instead he is at the office riding the "Power Trip Express". We will let that one be a story for another day!