I'd give him a bit of a break (he's just one of 100,001 of the financial criminals but got caught) IF he hadn't taken the charity money down. If so many people were looking to throw money at him why couldn't he of taken that and got rid of the charity money he was managing? That is possibly the real crime here so give him 50 years and put him in Pelican Bay.
Because the crime is much greater than any of you realize. I can't say more than that, but the rest of the blog will. I knew when Clinton pardoned Rich who he was and what he was up to. Nobody would listen. Batliner, Lichtenstein, UBS, money laundering.......... Watch this puppy come back full circle.
Maybe he took the charity money to give the image of a good person, so he can fool the people for longer?
Sociopaths don't think that way. He took the charities because it was money so he could pad his nest, and keep the scam going BSC, Leh, money markets. Then, Bernie coughs it up. Do you realize, if this market held up for another year, or two, he would have kept going? The only thing that stopped him was the markets collapse, and his "investors", I 'll call them pidgeons, wanted some money back.
Why should his handling of charity money be viewed any differently at taking the retirement accounf of an 80 year old person who had nothing else to live on? Theft is theft.
Yes. He had not enough new investors because people are afraid of the market, and the people he had want redemptions. All at the same time. I am saying he took charity money too because that image of having many charity clients gave him a good reputation so people do not question him. He have a brand name.
I'd prefer to see him spends nights in prison and days working as a greeter with an extra big name tag, at the Palm Beach Walmart, with 100% of earning going into a victims fund. But that's not going to happen. Hell, there is probably no Walmart in Palm Beach, and for sure there isn't a prison nearby.
Strangely enough, Bernie Madoff will probably receive leniency in terms of his sentencing. The following factors are likely to be considered by the judicial system: 1) The prisoner's advanced age (Health care for old prisoners is expensive). 2) The existing health problems of the prisoner (if any). 3) The lack of violence associated with the crime. 4) The fact that Bernie came out himself and reported the crime. Restitution of money to the victims is a different matter than the jail time.
I'ed like to see him dressed in ladies undergarments and under the supervision of that arizona sheriff with the tent prison.