Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years in jail. At age 71, this might seem a bit excessive. But considering the crime and the number of people affected, it really isn’t.
Six months ago, Madoff told his sons that his entire business was an elaborate Ponzi scheme, formerly known as the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Founded in 1960, Madoff served as chairman until his arrest on Dec. 11, 2008. Investors lost almost everything.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Fairfield Greenwich Advisors LLC – an investment management firm – had more than half of its $14.1 billion in assets connected to ‘Bernie,’ a name Madoff was fondly referred to as by friends, family and some employees.
‘Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused,’ Madoff’s wife Ruth said in a public statement after the sentencing. ‘The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years.’
Eleanor Squillari, Madoff’s secretary, sat down with CNN Money for a video interview.
‘I have been giving this a lot of thought, and it’s very hard to figure out where he was coming from. I don’t know if anyone is ever going to know because he’s not talking.’
The federal inmate’s refusal to talk was a key point in the severity of his sentencing.
During the trial, he claimed to have lied to his family, friends and colleagues for all these years in what appeared to be an effort to clear their names. When the judge handed down the 150-year sentence, the courtroom – filled with victims of Madoff’s scheme – cheered. A video interview conducted by the Wall Street Journal afterward made it clear that the victims are still not appeased.
Don’t they have a reason to still be distressed? The sentence may have been immense, perhaps even symbolic. If Madoff spends the rest of his life in prison, it still won’t feel like he has been punished enough. Some of these people lost everything.
Though there appears to be little more the court can do, investigations should continue to pursue Madoff’s partners in crime. He didn’t do this alone.
On the bright side, maybe some of Madoff’s old friends will be keeping him company soon.
