Made-off with too much

Bernard L. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the largest investor fraud ever committed by a single person. He defrauded thousands of investors in a Ponzi scheme. Media in the US and the UK were united in their condemnation, not only of Madoff, but of all those who should have stopped him.

The Washington Post

… An important lesson of this case has to do with the limits of business regulation. Mr. Madoff's activities were unambiguously illegal; a whistleblower repeatedly warned the Securities and Exchange Commission about them, in detail; the SEC had authority to stop the scheme. But the government did not act until Mr. Madoff's sons finally turned him in. … All of this is worth remembering as Congress debates President Obama's plan for financial regulatory reform. …

Financial Times

… The recent lengthy boom cycle created unusually fertile conditions for deceit, spawning a wave of frauds. Good times meant fewer investors asked for their money back and the rapid growth of complicated investment products that no one understood made high apparent returns such as Mr Madoff’s seem less implausible. … Regulators and politicians are busily rewriting rules and procedures to prevent a recurrence. It might be more effective to foster a revival of old-fashioned common feeling and basic common sense. …

The Guardian

…The Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel called Mr Madoff "God" and, on the strength of just two meetings, handed over not only his life savings, but those of his wife and a $15m chunk from his charitable foundation, too. Mr Wiesel ... was not alone. Mr Madoff's victims believed he could deliver returns that were too good to be true, and did not ask how or why. Yes, there was slack regulation — but, harsh as it sounds, one reason why the fraudster suckered so many people was because so many people were willing to be suckers…

The Los Angeles Times

… We don't doubt Madoff when he says that his wife cries herself to sleep every night, or even when he describes the torment he lives with (now that it's out in the open). But we are growing tired of being apologized to by politicians, athletes, corporate chieftains and financial wizardsfor their various scandals, crimes and misjudgments only after their luck has run out. …

For more information on Madoff and Ponzi schemes go to: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff