Maybe part of the deal was a scheme to move money offshore for some of his select clients. Maybe instead of being lost part of it has been laundered into accounts in safe haven countries or physical gold stored in vaults.
Looks at the detailed false statements this guy was generating http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/a-look-at-madoffs-trading-records/ You would think he had help.
A 'Fortune' article (Fri April 24 2009) estimates that the Madoff scheme drew in about $20 billion in total. I quote: "What isn't going to happen is the miraculous discovery of a giant vault with $65 billion in cash. That's because that $65 billion -- the most widely cited figure for the size of Madoff's heist -- is a fiction and always was. It's a tally of the stated value of all the account statements of every Madoff account holder as of Nov. 30. The total includes, in some cases, decades of fabricated returns. According to experts, the actual amount investors gave to Madoff over the years is probably closer to $20 billion." What has been identified by investigators are scraps (tens of millions) left behind by Madoff but nothing to stack up very high. What has apparently emerged is that the Madoff family did not know about the fraud. This is no surprise. But this won't necessarily stop prosecutors trying to pin charges on them on the basis that they should have known.
What is sort of funny is how childishly simple the scheme was at it's core. He took in money, fabricated reports, and took in more money... he opened a London office to hide the fact that he was in conflict of interest... and he was very good at keeping things to himself...
I think the man was a genius.. Think about it -- If given the opportunity to live extremely wealthy for say 35+ years and possibly setup your family for generations to come -- own homes all over the world and be god like only to spend the final days in Jail at 70 years of age.. Isn't such a bad deal. I know a lot of people who have done much more horrible things for a fraction of what Madoff stole and not having the benefit of living rich and freely like he did. The man lived a great life and is going to pay the ultimate price but he' s old and probably have memories most of us could only dream of.
Yeah, memories of worrying about getting caught for 30 years. you talk like a jerk my friend. I hope you aren't 1/2 as dumb as you sound.