Bernie Madoff Sentenced

[[XC] Lead Head]

To 150 Years in person - the maximum possible.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_madoff_scandal

I'd say he got sentenced justly, how about you?

[dengyong]

Did they liquidate his assets to return some of the money he stole ?

[Speederlander]

Did they liquidate his assets to return some of the money he stole ?

Last I heard they recently seized everything. His wife still has a couple million, which is unfortunate, but they pretty much grabbed 99% of money and assets. Wonder what he squirreled away in the overseas havens available only to the very wealthy. They should take away his wife's passport and puts his kids under 24 hour surveillance.

150 years seems about right.

[Particle]

150 years for a money crime? Hardly seems right.

[SoulsCollective]

It's difficult to say. 150yrs is obviously a term that is beyond ridiculous for a 71yr-old man - "for a fraud so extensive that the judge said he needed to send a symbolic message to potential imitators and to victims who demanded harsh punishment." Madoff will get out within a decade or so on ill-health grounds, unless he chooses to take his life, so this is all really just grandstanding - but perhaps it's necessary, who knows.

[[XC] Lead Head]

150 years for a money crime? Hardly seems right.

Sure, that wouldn't be right if he stole a few thousand, maybe even a few million, but he stole 50 BILLION from hundreds of people, companies and charities.

[One_Hertz]

Sure, that wouldn't be right if he stole a few thousand, maybe even a few million, but he stole 50 BILLION from hundreds of people, companies and charities.

It is still only money. You get 25 years for murder in Canada. Taking a life should deserve a higher punishment than taking money in my books.

[Speederlander]

It is still only money. You get 25 years for murder in Canada. Taking a life should deserve a higher punishment than taking money in my books.

Maybe the 150 years will count toward the guy that killed himself after he invested his family's money with Madoff.

[Speederlander]

It is still only money. You get 25 years for murder in Canada. Taking a life should deserve a higher punishment than taking money in my books.

Yeah, but then Canada needs to toughen their penalties for murder.

[ben805]

The 150 years sentence is too easy for him, now he get to chill in the prison sucking on tax payer money doing asbolutely nothing to pay back to the community and the people he ripped off. Personally I would rather see him doing community services atleast 12 hours a day and 7 days a week till the day he died.

[big poppa pump]

150 years for a money crime? Hardly seems right.

Its not about the money he took. Its about the number of lives he ruined by taking that hard earned money from them.

Time for him to toss some salad in prison!!

[YMAA]

The 150 years sentence is too easy for him, now he get to chill in the prison sucking on tax payer money doing asbolutely nothing to pay back to the community and the people he ripped off. Personally I would rather see him doing community services atleast 12 hours a day and 7 days a week till the day he died.

QFT. The minimum-security resort where he'll be staying will probably more or less rival the living conditions in which he's languished for the past few years, only this time US citizens will be paying for it with taxes instead of being swindled.

He should have to give something back, besides money. Even if he's not sorry for what he did, he should still be doing some community service of some kind.

[SoulsCollective]

At 71yrs old? Come on guys, you can't exactly get him to do hard labour.

[Speederlander]

At 71yrs old? Come on guys, you can't exactly get him to do hard labour.

Maybe sell him to D block for a pack of smokes.

[ben805]

At 71yrs old? Come on guys, you can't exactly get him to do hard labour.

not necessarily hard labour, just community services, perhaps serving food at the homeless shelter, handing out 'missing child' fliers in different neighborhood, clean after some mess from old folks in retirement complex or whatever, there are lots of things he could have done to give back to the community instead of sitting on his ass till he died!

[Speederlander]

not necessarily hard labour, just community services, perhaps serving food at the homeless shelter, handing out 'missing child' fliers in different neighborhood, clean after some mess from old folks in retirement complex or whatever, there are lots of things he could have done to give back to the community instead of sitting on his ass till he died!

In his case, I don't care if he gives back to the community. The human contact would be far far too nice a thing for him. Rather see him in solitary talking to the walls. And while we're at it, all the other rip-off artist hedge-fund managers who turned out to be thieving bastards can join him.

[ben805]

In his case, I don't care if he gives back to the community. The human contact would be far far too nice a thing for him. Rather see him in solitary talking to the walls. And while we're at it, all the other rip-off artist hedge-fund managers who turned out to be thieving bastards can join him.

Isn't it even nicer and way way way too easy for him to let him relax and not doing anything at all?? make the dude work!!

[Speederlander]

Isn't it even nicer and way way way too easy for him to let him relax and not doing anything at all?? make the dude work!!

Ok, but he can do just fine stamping license plates. No need to allow him contact with decent humans.

[twilyth]

When Madoff dies, he should be frozen until they can bring him back and then make him serve the rest of his sentence. Rinse and repeat. THAT would be fair.

About the money. In a Ponzi scheme, you're expected to pay out. That's why you're always taking money in and why you have to do it faster than you're paying it out. But in this case, I think a lot of people just let it sit and make fictitious annual returns. Madoff wasn't stupid. These are the ideal investors for a Ponzi scheme. They're rich enough that they don't need it so as long as you send them statements showing that they're earning 12-13%, they're happy.

The problem is compounding and I would guess this is what bit him in the ass. He had people who had parked money with him for what, decades? At just above 12% interest, the principle will double every 6 years. So if you started with $5M and after 18 years your statement says $15 million, well, you don't need a lot people asking to pull out their money before you're screwed.

So when they're talking about $50B or more is losses - what does that represent really? Is that initial investment, investment plus a standard rate of return, plus the claimed rate of return? Because even if it's the second one, the actual amount invested might have been a lot less. Of course it's still a real loss since you're entitled to a fair return. But you have to wonder where the numbers come from.

The thing that really sucks is that a lot of any money that is left is probably off shore and i don't think any of those guys are going to be volunteering that they have any of it.

I have sympathy for the victims, but you have to wonder what possesses someone to put all of their money with one guy. So much for rich people being any smarter than the rest of us.

[dengyong]

What ever happened to a good old fashion stoning to death ?

[Hoboclese]

there are a lot of people still angry at him and i bet even some of the prisoners that he is sharing the said minimum security resort with may have someone or even themselves lose money because of Madoff so i don't think he will be treated very nicely by the other people there.

[570091D]

I have sympathy for the victims, but you have to wonder what possesses someone to put all of their money with one guy. So much for rich people being any smarter than the rest of us.

i think you need to read this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_166967.html

Foxton didn't know he was investing with madoff, he had entrusted his money to an austrian bank. they assured him that it had been invested across a variety of hedge funds.... unfortunately they were madoff funds. madoff has destroyed more that a couple of trust funds, most of the people he ripped off had thier life's savings with him but didn't know it.

i listened to this report on my way to work today, the words of Foxton's son.
http://www.theworld.org/latest-editi...ard-madoff-800

white collor crime is so much more devastating than most murders, rapes, or roberies. people's entire lives are often completely gutted, everything they have ever worked for is gone with no hope of ever returning. i can't think of a punishment severe enough for madoff.

[Speederlander]

i can't think of a punishment severe enough for madoff.

I can, but various laws and societal norms would prevent the implementation.

[twilyth]

I understand what you're saying, but whether it's one man or one fund or one bank, etc, the saying about eggs and baskets comes to mind.

[570091D]

I understand what you're saying, but whether it's one man or one fund or one bank, etc, the saying about eggs and baskets comes to mind.

he and many many others were led to believe that thier money was in multiple baskets, and in safe hands. only now do they know that all of those baskets were held by madoff. this wasn't JUST a ponzi scheme, this was a huge and blatant attempt at thievery on a massive scale. remember the french banker who slit his wrists after learning he had invested millions of other peoples money in madoff funds? same deal, he had absolutely no idea who was actually holding the money he was responsible for. for people like Foxton, this was meant to be a SAFER alternative to a 401k. now they are all left with nothing...