Reality finally caught up with Bernie Madoff on December 11, 2008.
Arrested at the $7m Manhattan penthouse he shared with his wife, Ruth, the man who had run a decade long pyramid scheme made an emotional confession to his sons that âitâs all just one big lieâ. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators spoke of âa stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportionsâ.
Their suspicions proved correct.
Madoffâs white-collar crime was the largest-ever Ponzi scheme in history. By its end, Madoff had effectively stolen $17.5bn (£11.4bn) from more than 4,000 account holders with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS), as well as from thousands more third-party investors exposed through feeder funds.