I dont know about you but, I think we live in a scary time, in the world, when many people have managed to live their lives without developing a conscience or a sense of decency. There are some people in the world who feel justified in doing whatever they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want…and show absolutely no remorse!
Today, Bernie Madoff the so called-mastermind of the biggest Ponzi scheme perpetuated on the world of financial investing was sentenced to 150 years behind bars for his crimes. He actually stood before the judge and said that he was NOT asking for forgiveness; nor, was he going to be offering any excuses for his behavior. He tried to communicate how he is shamed, and that he must live with the pain and the suffering that he has caused. Those sentiments do not jive well with the allegations that approximately $15 million dollars of company money was allegedly transferred into his wife’s personal account when it became clear that this scheme was about to come to an end. Good Lord…is Bernie Madoff delusional?
Bernie…at least Robin Hood GAVE to the poor…he didn’t steal from them! In the stories of Robin Hood, he is forced to steal from the rich to survive and he shares his gains with those less fortunate. He becomes a champion of those who are suffering. In this scam, Bernie has probably gone as far away from being a champion, of the oppressed, as you can get…rich or poor, his victims do not hold him in high regard.
Alot of the media coverage has focussed on celebrity victims and high profile people who lost fortunes with the Madoff scam. However, the truth of the matter is…there were many average people who invested their retirement funds with him and his company. The thing is…no one deserves to have their money stolen from them when they put their trust in a company and it’s employees to invest for them. It isn’t about how much money people can afford to lose…investing is sometimes a gamble; however, that is dependent on the market…not on the companies who are expected to conduct themselves honestly in their financial dealings. Is there no agency, organization, or government branch that is supposed to oversee these types of transactions; deal with complaints, and look for patterns of improper behaviors.
A person who is ashamed of their behavior does not say something like, I am not asking for your forgiveness or offering any excuses. When you injure another person…there needs to be words expressed that explain the circumstances… there needs to be offered, true repetence. That is obviously not going to happen here. Bernie Madoff stole from those, both rich and poor. He took from his friends, his acquaintances, his clients and from complete strangers. Bernie Madoff…let’s remember, even Robin Hood GAVE to the poor! No one, rich or poor, deserves what this Ponzi scheme has done to them.
For each person scammed, there is a horror story. There is a future that was stolen. There is a trust that will never be extended confidently again to another individual. There are folks who have suffered terrible financial losses, personal losses, health ills, and the list goes on.
I think that the judge hit the nail on the head when he said, that Madoff’s crimes were “extra-ordinarily evil”. I think that there is no better description of what took place. There are so many questions still standing…where is the rest of the money? Did his wife know what he did? She worked in his same office and had financial information, since she worked on the books. Did his sons have any involvement in the scheme? Are there any other relatives or employees involved in the cover up that took place, for all of those years?
In court, it appears that a message was trying to be conveyed. Ruth Madoff said this in a statement that was released by her attorney; I am embarassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this fraud is not the man that I have known all of these years.
To me that sounds like a defensive move…one that is trying to say that he “wasn’t himself” or that she is trying to distance herself away from the crimes…even though she has not YET been accused of doing anything illegal. Whether she is involved in the crime herself or not…loving the man or not; how can she continue to live in a multi-million dollar home that she shared w/her husband that was more than like paid for with the money from the lives of the very people who have lost their investments through her husband’s schemes. Wouldn’t the guilt alone eat most people up?
Some people say that she should get to keep some of the money since there isn’t any evidence proven so far of her involvement. Money that was stolen from innocent people is sitting there in the bank account of the Madoffs silently mocking the words of sympathy and understanding, for the losses of all of those innocent people. Isn’t it possible to set up a foundation which could attempt to some sort of restitution for those who have lost their life savings and could prove their investments with their company? That would go a long way towards healing the ill will that many victims of the scheme feel towards the Madoffs.
Mrs. Madoff has said that by keeping silent all of these months…that her silence has come across as being uncaring or insensitive. Fair or not, many have held hard feelings towards her and the rest of her family while they themselves are suffering devastating effects from their losses…Bernie’s family continues to live in environments that many would consider well off. Surely their lives are going through changes as well…but, ill will is going to be hard for many to overcome, as they struggle to meet their most basic needs while some of the Madoff family members do not have the same concerns.
There are rumors swirling about more arrests to come, at the end of the investigation…those however, are mere rumors. The truth of the matter is, this is not over yet! There is more to the story behind these events…hopefully, those responsible will be held accountable so that this can never happen again, to innocent people. Do you know someone who was affected by this Ponzi scheme? How has it impacted their lives?
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