It’s been two years since federal authorities hauled Bernie Madoff to lock-up for confessing to be the biggest con man in financial history.
This weekend, on the anniversary of his arrest, ABC News and several other news outlets are reporting that his son, Mark Madoff, was found dead inside his Manhattan apartment from an apparent suicide, according to police. ABC News reported that Mark Madoff “had reportedly learned in the last week that he faced possible criminal charges in both London and New York.”
Bernie Madoff was arrested on Dec. 11, 2008, when it was revealed that the former NASDAQ chairman pulled off a Ponzi scheme bigger than the one crafted by Charles Ponzi himself. The victims of Bernie Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme — many of them wealthy investors who sunk their life-savings into his bogus fund –still are battling to recoup even a portion of what they lost.
Some have taken more creative approaches to rebuilding their savings: One Madoff victim we interviewed is a New York cabaret singer who lost her life savings and decided to earn some of it back with a one-woman performance called “John Denver, Bernie Madoff and Me.”
While Ponzi schemes are not new, Madoff modernized the scam and brought it back into the public eye. However, if you need a refresher course on how a Ponzi scheme works, check out our Ponzi decoder. And don’t miss our tips on how to avoid guys like Madoff.
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