He's a piece of shit, and should rot in jail. As should his sons.
I find the laughing at all his ripped-off investors on here a serious NAGL. Especially in the Northeast, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in non-profit money has dissapeared, and it is not just affecting the investors, or the employees of foundations, but the people who stood to gain from those foundations.
GBH, sanctimony aside, you WORK for a Boston non-profit... people like the Shapiros keep you employeed. When Madoff fucks them, it affects YOU.
He took advantage of his pedigree, his religion, and people's desire for more money. But, lest you (plural, not one person on here) be the one without any money invested outside of your mattress, you are ALL looking for a return on your investment, and if you're not looking to maximize that, take it out and put it in a mattress.
He's a piece of shit, and should rot in jail. As should his sons.
I find the laughing at all his ripped-off investors on here a serious NAGL. Especially in the Northeast, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in non-profit money has dissapeared, and it is not just affecting the investors, or the employees of foundations, but the people who stood to gain from those foundations.
GBH, sanctimony aside, you WORK for a Boston non-profit... people like the Shapiros keep you employeed. When Madoff fucks them, it affects YOU.
He took advantage of his pedigree, his religion, and people's desire for more money. But, lest you (plural, not one person on here) be the one without any money invested outside of your mattress, you are ALL looking for a return on your investment, and if you're not looking to maximize that, take it out and put it in a mattress.
You don't need to tell me, my man. I see the revenue reports for Development every week. But I think I've explained the source of my schadenfreude already in this thread. If folks were looking to maximize their investments in a manner that didn't have inevitably destructive effects on our entire economic system and each of us as individuals, I would have sympathy for them. But the desire to bend or eliminate the rules, to take advantage of even the shadiest investment strategies to do so...again, you sow destruction, you reap destruction.
Thanks, I had been reading it as Fonzie and was really confused about the whole thing. It makes way more sense now.
This made my day.
My dad just sent me an email: turns out he looks pretty much like the dude. Getting dirty looks from the Girl Scouts at the store from his Madoff-osity! (at least that's what he's claiming)
Not much stupider or smarter than not-so-rich people. If I thought I could get a 10% annual return, I'd be signing up for that shit too.
Rich people generally know that you can't legitimately get a 10% return. They were banking on Madoff having insider dealing type knowledge that would earn the 10%.
This is the real reason that no-one should have sympathy for the rich investors.
Hung by their own greed.
b/w Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
You mean like the 401ks that most all of us are reliant upon because most pensions were deigned 'too expensive' a generation or 2 ago?
I heard one guys sob story who lost multiple millions to Madoff's scheme, and I still can't figure out if putting ALL your retirement $$$ in the hands of one investment firm to presumably invest in a diverse manner is normal or not. I mean, it sounded like the guy was getting the same kind of statements I get from Prudential on my meager 401k savings, only he is now being told "sorry charlie, no money".
Can one of you fiscal brainiacs explain to me how someone is able to defraud on such a massive scale? It still doesn't add up in my mind.
He's a piece of shit, and should rot in jail. As should his sons.
I find the laughing at all his ripped-off investors on here a serious NAGL. Especially in the Northeast, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in non-profit money has dissapeared, and it is not just affecting the investors, or the employees of foundations, but the people who stood to gain from those foundations.
GBH, sanctimony aside, you WORK for a Boston non-profit... people like the Shapiros keep you employeed. When Madoff fucks them, it affects YOU.
He took advantage of his pedigree, his religion, and people's desire for more money. But, lest you (plural, not one person on here) be the one without any money invested outside of your mattress, you are ALL looking for a return on your investment, and if you're not looking to maximize that, take it out and put it in a mattress.
Laugh at George Bush too, and he messed things up and destroyed more lives than Madoff.
Can one of you fiscal brainiacs explain to me how someone is able to defraud on such a massive scale? It still doesn't add up in my mind.
Pretty simple, really. It was a straight-up Ponzi scheme. People give you money to invest, and you just stick it in a bank account. You tell them their making great returns on their money. Other folks buy in, because you've gotten a reputation for yielding great returns. If someone wants to take their money out, you pay them out from the bank account. The rest of the money, well, who knows what he did with it? The whole thing finally comes apart when too many people try to take out their money, and you run out of cash to pay them.
A 401(k) is not a basket. It's just a savings plan - how you choose to invest the money in that account is a different story. If all your 401k is on ONE single stock or mutual fund, you're not diversifying.
If folks were looking to maximize their investments in a manner that didn't have inevitably destructive effects on our entire economic system and each of us as individuals, I would have sympathy for them. But the desire to bend or eliminate the rules, to take advantage of even the shadiest investment strategies to do so...again, you sow destruction, you reap destruction.
there is absolutely no evidence that his investors were trying to "bend or eliminate the rules". madoff purported to run a conventional investment company. he generated phony statements that innocent people believed were true. good results are not uncommon in the investment world. there are plenty of harvard/princeton/wharton grads on wall street who invest on more than luck. your argument is a total loser. rich people can be innocent victims too.
Can one of you fiscal brainiacs explain to me how someone is able to defraud on such a massive scale? It still doesn't add up in my mind.
Pretty simple, really. It was a straight-up Ponzi scheme. People give you money to invest, and you just stick it in a bank account. You tell them their making great returns on their money. Other folks buy in, because you've gotten a reputation for yielding great returns. If someone wants to take their money out, you pay them out from the bank account. The rest of the money, well, who knows what he did with it? The whole thing finally comes apart when too many people try to take out their money, and you run out of cash to pay them.
What's extraordinary about Madoff is just how long he was able to pull it off, and thus, how big the scheme grew. He was unusually patient and - in a sense - not as greedy as most Ponzi-types are in trying to cash in early and jumping out.
Also Ponzis are not uncommon - they just busted up a 40 million dollar scheme in CA this morning.
Madoff ganked his own rabbi. Some have even stated he targeted the Jewish communities where he lived (NYC, FL). This dude needs to get his and celebrating people losing money is to repeat NAGL.
Can someone explain what the F*ck Madoff was thinking? if you run a scam you get in and you get out. if you K in Canada you earn trust, rip off a bunch of people, then go radio silence. if you're a huckster riding into town with a ponzi, you get victims, get them to build the network and then disappear right as it collapses.
he had no exit strategy, he was a famous dude. how did he think he could grow it to such a huge size? even without the economic downturn at certain point you would run out of rich people putting in inputs.
But consider - it was working! And really, so long as the economy was growing, Madoff could have run this scheme for years (unless the SEC finally got their shit together). The scheme collapsed once the general economy was bad enough that his clients wanted to pull their money out and once that began to happen, he threw in the towel.
But assuming the economy was still decent, it's quite possible he could have kept milking it without anyone being the wiser.
I mean, dude raised over 40 BILLION dollars. That seems to be "what the F*ck Madoff was thinking."
Madoff ganked his own rabbi. Some have even stated he targeted the Jewish communities where he lived (NYC, FL). This dude needs to get his and celebrating people losing money is to repeat NAGL.
He did.
Dude traded on the long-held Jewish desire to keep money "in the family" and deal with other Jews. And he didn't take all comers - he routinely rejected people so it appeared that he had standards.
He really does deserve to rot in hell. It seems the punishment doesn't fit the crime.
There's certainly greedy rich folks I can't feel sorry for, but it's irresponsible to claim that this only affects them.
People invested with Madoff because they thought he'd get them a return on their investment.
It's the same reason I invest in my Fidelity 401K, a Vanguard fund, some stocks, and a savings account- because I can get a return on my investment. Does that make me greedy? One could say... you could also say I'm trying to take advantage of a LEGAL investment opportunity.
Which, if you believe the SEC, all of Madoff's investors were doing. Investing in a legal opportunity, with the hopes of getting a return on their investment.
If wanting a return on investment makes one, 'greedy,' then anything outside shoving your money in a mattress makes someone greedy.
But consider - it was working! And really, so long as the economy was growing, Madoff could have run this scheme for years (unless the SEC finally got their shit together). The scheme collapsed once the general economy was bad enough that his clients wanted to pull their money out and once that began to happen, he threw in the towel.
But assuming the economy was still decent, it's quite possible he could have kept milking it without anyone being the wiser.
I mean, dude raised over 40 BILLION dollars. That seems to be "what the F*ck Madoff was thinking."
I don't think 40 billion is what he raised.
I think 40 billion is what he claimed his victims accounts had grown to.
What he raised was a small fraction of that. Maybe only in the 100s of millions.
Fine. I throw in the towel. Good people as well as bad became victims. Some probably deserved to get bit by the market, some didn't. I will carefully parse my laughter, and intersperse it with sympathy for those who deserve it.
People invested with Madoff because they thought he'd get them a return on their investment.
It's the same reason I invest in my Fidelity 401K, a Vanguard fund, some stocks, and a savings account- because I can get a return on my investment. Does that make me greedy? One could say... you could also say I'm trying to take advantage of a LEGAL investment opportunity.
Which, if you believe the SEC, all of Madoff's investors were doing. Investing in a legal opportunity, with the hopes of getting a return on their investment.
If wanting a return on investment makes one, 'greedy,' then anything outside shoving your money in a mattress makes someone greedy.
It is no secret that low return investments such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit are safer than high yield investments such as ponzi schemes, derivatives, mortgage backed securities and hedge funds.
People who choose to put all their money into high yield accounts, should be prepared to move in with their children.
BTW, I think Madoff is scum and feel sorry for his victims. But not as sorry as I feel for a single working mom whose husband just died in Iraq.
Pretty sure Madoff lost $50 Billion in real money.
Stole, not lost.
That's not correct. I'm not sure how much he STOLE, but he LOST $50 billion. Stole suggests he kept the $50 billion and he did not since he was using new money coming in to pay out to the older investors. He couldn't have kept all that money personally otherwise the pyramid scheme would have instantly collapsed on the front end.
But consider - it was working! And really, so long as the economy was growing, Madoff could have run this scheme for years (unless the SEC finally got their shit together). The scheme collapsed once the general economy was bad enough that his clients wanted to pull their money out and once that began to happen, he threw in the towel.
that's incorrect. true, it's collapse was hastened by the downturn, but it would have collapsed regardless. it definitely couldn't have continued on and on for years and years. how much did he manage? 40 billion? 20 years from now assuming a 10 percent rate of return it would have had to swell to 244 billion to stay solvent not accounting for inflation.
the reason why ponzi schemes cannot stay alive forever is because of its need for exponential growth, yet only a finite number of people in the world.
But consider - it was working! And really, so long as the economy was growing, Madoff could have run this scheme for years (unless the SEC finally got their shit together). The scheme collapsed once the general economy was bad enough that his clients wanted to pull their money out and once that began to happen, he threw in the towel.
that's incorrect. true, it's collapse was hastened by the downturn, but it would have collapsed regardless. it definitely couldn't have continued on and on for years and years. how much did he manage? 40 billion? 20 years from now it would have had to swell to 244 billion to stay solvent not accounting for inflation.
the reason why ponzi schemes cannot stay alive forever is because of its need for exponential growth, yet only a finite number of people in the world.
I don't disagree with your math but he did manage to keep it around for much longer than most ponzi schemes run. Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
i'd say five max. the genius of it was that he said no to certain people. that shit makes me laugh, and that's why i'm not sorry for anyone. if you're that rich and don't know about diversifying your shit then you are an idiot. and if it's a charity it's mismanaged.
seriously, the genius of saying no. like, i'm going to rip you off, but no, you're not good enough. the one thing rich people will not tolerate is being told no to. it's like he created the Studio 54 of investments.
Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
i'd say five max. the genius of it was that he said no to certain people. that shit makes me laugh, and that's why i'm not sorry for anyone. if you're that rich and don't know about diversifying your shit then you are an idiot. and if it's a charity it's mismanaged.
seriously, the genius of saying no. like, i'm going to rip you off, but no, you're not good enough. the one thing rich people will not tolerate is being told no to. it's like he created the Studio 54 of investments.
Your right about charities. No charity should have all their millions invested in one fund. I would consider charges against the whoever was most responsible for not diversifying.
Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
i'd say five max. the genius of it was that he said no to certain people. that shit makes me laugh, and that's why i'm not sorry for anyone. if you're that rich and don't know about diversifying your shit then you are an idiot. and if it's a charity it's mismanaged.
seriously, the genius of saying no. like, i'm going to rip you off, but no, you're not good enough. the one thing rich people will not tolerate is being told no to. it's like he created the Studio 54 of investments.
He said no to some, because his scheme was an "affinity scheme" in which he focused on an identifiable ethnic group, in this case jewish investors.
Per Wiki, the definition of affinity scheme:
Affinity fraud includes investment frauds that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are - or pretend to be - members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme, by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile. Many times, those leaders become unwitting victims of the fraudster's ruse.
These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue their legal remedies, and instead try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment.
Many affinity scams involve "Ponzi schemes" or pyramid schemes, where new investor money is used to make payments to earlier investors to give the illusion that the investment is successful. This ploy is used to trick new investors to invest in the scheme and to lull existing investors into believing their investments are safe and secure. In reality, the fraudster almost always steals investor money for personal use. Both types of schemes depend on an unending supply of new investors; when the inevitable occurs, and the supply of investors dries up, the whole scheme collapses and investors discover that most or all of their money is gone.
People invested with Madoff because they thought he'd get them a return on their investment.
It's the same reason I invest in my Fidelity 401K, a Vanguard fund, some stocks, and a savings account- because I can get a return on my investment. Does that make me greedy? One could say... you could also say I'm trying to take advantage of a LEGAL investment opportunity.
Which, if you believe the SEC, all of Madoff's investors were doing. Investing in a legal opportunity, with the hopes of getting a return on their investment.
If wanting a return on investment makes one, 'greedy,' then anything outside shoving your money in a mattress makes someone greedy.
It is no secret that low return investments such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit are safer than high yield investments such as ponzi schemes, derivatives, mortgage backed securities and hedge funds.
People who choose to put all their money into high yield accounts, should be prepared to move in with their children.
BTW, I think Madoff is scum and feel sorry for his victims. But not as sorry as I feel for a single working mom whose husband just died in Iraq.
But... People who enlist in the army should be prepared to leave their family's without a father or mother.
EDIT: I realize this statement is merely sensationalist crap, but hey... by that logic...
Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
i'd say five max. the genius of it was that he said no to certain people. that shit makes me laugh, and that's why i'm not sorry for anyone. if you're that rich and don't know about diversifying your shit then you are an idiot. and if it's a charity it's mismanaged.
seriously, the genius of saying no. like, i'm going to rip you off, but no, you're not good enough. the one thing rich people will not tolerate is being told no to. it's like he created the Studio 54 of investments.
He said no to some, because his scheme was an "affinity scheme" in which he focused on an identifiable ethnic group, in this case jewish investors.
Per Wiki, the definition of affinity scheme:
Affinity fraud includes investment frauds that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are - or pretend to be - members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme, by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile. Many times, those leaders become unwitting victims of the fraudster's ruse.
These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue their legal remedies, and instead try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment.
Many affinity scams involve "Ponzi schemes" or pyramid schemes, where new investor money is used to make payments to earlier investors to give the illusion that the investment is successful. This ploy is used to trick new investors to invest in the scheme and to lull existing investors into believing their investments are safe and secure. In reality, the fraudster almost always steals investor money for personal use. Both types of schemes depend on an unending supply of new investors; when the inevitable occurs, and the supply of investors dries up, the whole scheme collapses and investors discover that most or all of their money is gone.
This is really sad. Another tip off that this was not legit is that he did limit and target.
When I have been approached do participate in ponzis they have been up front.
I was 20 or 21 the first time someone tried to get me in on the airplane scheme. Give me $100 for a "seat" on the "airplane". Then go out and find ten people to buy "seats" from you. Err... Why don't I just keep my $100 and start a new airplane? No. You have to buy a "seat" first. Why?
The other one of course is Amway styled. I have a relative who wants me to sell Melaleuca.
I don't have enough money to interest Madoff types.
Comments
As should his sons.
I find the laughing at all his ripped-off investors on here a serious NAGL. Especially in the Northeast, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of dollars in non-profit money has dissapeared, and it is not just affecting the investors, or the employees of foundations, but the people who stood to gain from those foundations.
GBH, sanctimony aside, you WORK for a Boston non-profit... people like the Shapiros keep you employeed. When Madoff fucks them, it affects YOU.
He took advantage of his pedigree, his religion, and people's desire for more money. But, lest you (plural, not one person on here) be the one without any money invested outside of your mattress, you are ALL looking for a return on your investment, and if you're not looking to maximize that, take it out and put it in a mattress.
You don't need to tell me, my man. I see the revenue reports for Development every week. But I think I've explained the source of my schadenfreude already in this thread. If folks were looking to maximize their investments in a manner that didn't have inevitably destructive effects on our entire economic system and each of us as individuals, I would have sympathy for them. But the desire to bend or eliminate the rules, to take advantage of even the shadiest investment strategies to do so...again, you sow destruction, you reap destruction.
This made my day.
My dad just sent me an email: turns out he looks pretty much like the dude. Getting dirty looks from the Girl Scouts at the store from his Madoff-osity! (at least that's what he's claiming)
You mean like the 401ks that most all of us are reliant upon because most pensions were deigned 'too expensive' a generation or 2 ago?
I heard one guys sob story who lost multiple millions to Madoff's scheme, and I still can't figure out if putting ALL your retirement $$$ in the hands of one investment firm to presumably invest in a diverse manner is normal or not. I mean, it sounded like the guy was getting the same kind of statements I get from Prudential on my meager 401k savings, only he is now being told "sorry charlie, no money".
Can one of you fiscal brainiacs explain to me how someone is able to defraud on such a massive scale? It still doesn't add up in my mind.
Laugh at George Bush too, and he messed things up and destroyed more lives than Madoff.
Do you know why Laura has to always be on top?
Pretty simple, really. It was a straight-up Ponzi scheme. People give you money to invest, and you just stick it in a bank account. You tell them their making great returns on their money. Other folks buy in, because you've gotten a reputation for yielding great returns. If someone wants to take their money out, you pay them out from the bank account. The rest of the money, well, who knows what he did with it? The whole thing finally comes apart when too many people try to take out their money, and you run out of cash to pay them.
there is absolutely no evidence that his investors were trying to "bend or eliminate the rules". madoff purported to run a conventional investment company. he generated phony statements that innocent people believed were true. good results are not uncommon in the investment world. there are plenty of harvard/princeton/wharton grads on wall street who invest on more than luck. your argument is a total loser. rich people can be innocent victims too.
What's extraordinary about Madoff is just how long he was able to pull it off, and thus, how big the scheme grew. He was unusually patient and - in a sense - not as greedy as most Ponzi-types are in trying to cash in early and jumping out.
Also Ponzis are not uncommon - they just busted up a 40 million dollar scheme in CA this morning.
he had no exit strategy, he was a famous dude. how did he think he could grow it to such a huge size? even without the economic downturn at certain point you would run out of rich people putting in inputs.
But consider - it was working! And really, so long as the economy was growing, Madoff could have run this scheme for years (unless the SEC finally got their shit together). The scheme collapsed once the general economy was bad enough that his clients wanted to pull their money out and once that began to happen, he threw in the towel.
But assuming the economy was still decent, it's quite possible he could have kept milking it without anyone being the wiser.
I mean, dude raised over 40 BILLION dollars. That seems to be "what the F*ck Madoff was thinking."
He did.
Dude traded on the long-held Jewish desire to keep money "in the family" and deal with other Jews. And he didn't take all comers - he routinely rejected people so it appeared that he had standards.
He really does deserve to rot in hell. It seems the punishment doesn't fit the crime.
There's certainly greedy rich folks I can't feel sorry for, but it's irresponsible to claim that this only affects them.
It's the same reason I invest in my Fidelity 401K, a Vanguard fund, some stocks, and a savings account- because I can get a return on my investment. Does that make me greedy? One could say... you could also say I'm trying to take advantage of a LEGAL investment opportunity.
Which, if you believe the SEC, all of Madoff's investors were doing. Investing in a legal opportunity, with the hopes of getting a return on their investment.
If wanting a return on investment makes one, 'greedy,' then anything outside shoving your money in a mattress makes someone greedy.
I don't think 40 billion is what he raised.
I think 40 billion is what he claimed his victims accounts had grown to.
What he raised was a small fraction of that.
Maybe only in the 100s of millions.
Or am I wrong?
It is no secret that low return investments such as savings accounts and certificates of deposit are safer than high yield investments such as ponzi schemes, derivatives, mortgage backed securities and hedge funds.
People who choose to put all their money into high yield accounts, should be prepared to move in with their children.
BTW, I think Madoff is scum and feel sorry for his victims.
But not as sorry as I feel for a single working mom whose husband just died in Iraq.
Stole, not lost.
That's not correct. I'm not sure how much he STOLE, but he LOST $50 billion. Stole suggests he kept the $50 billion and he did not since he was using new money coming in to pay out to the older investors. He couldn't have kept all that money personally otherwise the pyramid scheme would have instantly collapsed on the front end.
that's incorrect. true, it's collapse was hastened by the downturn, but it would have collapsed regardless. it definitely couldn't have continued on and on for years and years. how much did he manage? 40 billion? 20 years from now assuming a 10 percent rate of return it would have had to swell to 244 billion to stay solvent not accounting for inflation.
the reason why ponzi schemes cannot stay alive forever is because of its need for exponential growth, yet only a finite number of people in the world.
I don't disagree with your math but he did manage to keep it around for much longer than most ponzi schemes run. Couldn't have been infinite but a few more years, don't you think?
i'd say five max. the genius of it was that he said no to certain people. that shit makes me laugh, and that's why i'm not sorry for anyone. if you're that rich and don't know about diversifying your shit then you are an idiot. and if it's a charity it's mismanaged.
seriously, the genius of saying no. like, i'm going to rip you off, but no, you're not good enough. the one thing rich people will not tolerate is being told no to. it's like he created the Studio 54 of investments.
Your right about charities.
No charity should have all their millions invested in one fund.
I would consider charges against the whoever was most responsible for not diversifying.
He said no to some, because his scheme was an "affinity scheme" in which he focused on an identifiable ethnic group, in this case jewish investors.
Per Wiki, the definition of affinity scheme:
Affinity fraud includes investment frauds that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are - or pretend to be - members of the group. They often enlist respected community or religious leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme, by convincing those people that a fraudulent investment is legitimate and worthwhile. Many times, those leaders become unwitting victims of the fraudster's ruse.
These scams exploit the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue their legal remedies, and instead try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment.
Many affinity scams involve "Ponzi schemes" or pyramid schemes, where new investor money is used to make payments to earlier investors to give the illusion that the investment is successful. This ploy is used to trick new investors to invest in the scheme and to lull existing investors into believing their investments are safe and secure. In reality, the fraudster almost always steals investor money for personal use. Both types of schemes depend on an unending supply of new investors; when the inevitable occurs, and the supply of investors dries up, the whole scheme collapses and investors discover that most or all of their money is gone.
But... People who enlist in the army should be prepared to leave their family's without a father or mother.
EDIT: I realize this statement is merely sensationalist crap, but hey... by that logic...
This is really sad.
Another tip off that this was not legit is that he did limit and target.
When I have been approached do participate in ponzis they have been up front.
I was 20 or 21 the first time someone tried to get me in on the airplane scheme.
Give me $100 for a "seat" on the "airplane".
Then go out and find ten people to buy "seats" from you.
Err... Why don't I just keep my $100 and start a new airplane?
No. You have to buy a "seat" first.
Why?
The other one of course is Amway styled.
I have a relative who wants me to sell Melaleuca.
I don't have enough money to interest Madoff types.