"How I Got Screwed by Bernie Madoff"

The call came at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. I had been waiting for it for five years. When the call finally arrived, it was my wife Sarah who answered. What the person said on the other end of the phone was both simple and devastating: we were financially wiped out.

Of course, I knew this instantly from the look on my wife's face. Her words to the caller, the person handling our financial matters, grew insistent: "You're joking? This is a joke, right?"

We didn't know it yet, but we had been playing in the Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC Fantasy Financial League. It began when we sold our home at the peak of the market, collected what was left from an old divorce, found other monies and then, with a combination of pleasure and trepidation, handed over our life savings to someone named Stanley Chais, the Los Angeles network organizer for a man named Bernard Madoff.

Of course, we never heard the name Madoff -- which has a peculiarly Dickensian ring now -- and had no idea how he achieved such fantastic returns over the past 40 years.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[mincepies]

$50 billion - FIFTY BILLION DOLLARS!! Blown!

It is beyond mind blowing that this could happen at all and the fact that he was operating for many years without hindrance is even more shocking.

This begs questions about all other private equity/hedge funds operating with almost zero oversight? Given the levels of corruption, its very likely there are more Madoffs around.

Since the crisis started the government has been staving off economic collapse by pumping cash into the system. There has been no effort to restore CONFIDENCE, and because of this lack of CONFIDENCE everything continues to decline. It is critical to take severe action:

1) Anyone considered possibly culpable in any of the constituent parts of this crisis should be off to jail to await formal prosecution and trial. Madoff has ripped off the equivalent of several times the budget of California, affecting millions in the process. He should be in jail awaiting trial, not sitting comfortably at home.

2) Per Sarbanes, leadership should pass an emergency law compelling officers/ directors of any investment businesses in the country to formally attest that this is not happening in their businesses. Failure to comply or subsequently revealed untruths should carry extraordinarily heavy mandatory penalties - huge fines, long prison terms without parole, limited appeal.

The people who'd do this stuff have to realise that there are real and very severe consequences for their actions.

We have to restore investor CONFIDENCE in the system - new regulation won't achieve that alone

[Pacojam]

Would you pay your doctor a large sum of money to tell you to snort antrax? That is akin to what these financial advisors did who made millions by advising people to invest in Madoffs fund. They should payback what they "earned" and then be thrown in jail.

[PhilipTaylor]

This is not unlike the story of young couples buying into a "TRICK" mortgage that explodes its fees and interest rates in a couple years so they can not afford live there anymore!

Wall Street Mortgage Derivatives are a Scheme not unlike a PONZI SCHEME!
__________­__________­__________­__________­__________­__________­_________

I hope he will be assigned a "COURT APPOINTED LAWYER!"

I hope he can not use other people's Millions, stored OFF-SHORE, to hire a DOZEN Lawyers to fight for him so he never serves a day in prison.

He shows NO REGRETS or FEAR! Perhaps counting on the lawyers!

This is another ENRON with virtually NO ONE serving time!

Will he go after the Off-Shore Funds when released in a couple years?

[KarateKid]

You know, I don't want to make light of those who lost a fortune, but honestly, how does anyone trust someone else with their entire life savings? Geez, you should always keep some in a safe portfolio. It's amazing how many people were duped by this flim flam artist. Greed is an amazing animal trait.

I know some wealthy people who keep a lot of money in a safe, bolted into their floor at home; fireproof, waterproof. I asked them why they did that, and they said they wanted to get their hands on cash in a pinch, even if they didn't make any interest on it. I thought they were nuts, but.........

[KarateKid]

So, he Madoff with your money, eh?

[Hnorc]

Had this been some punk kid who rob a 7-11, his butt would be sitting in jail. Why is this man free?

[Denver4Obama]

Mr. Crew: Your wife's family lost $30 million? Think of the good they could have done with that money by giving it to environmental defense groups, human rights orginizations etc.. Instead, they chose to invest it in a too good to be true investment scheme to keep the whole family living off of unearned trusts. I went to school with these kinds of people in Southern California, I assure you that they are not prepared to be a part of those of us whose dreams consist of trying to max out our 401 at $15,500 this year to see half of it wiped out by an econonmic collapse engineered by people who think they need 20% of interst on more than $30 million each year. Gee, $6 million a year to keep all the kids in college. Now go get a job since you can't live off of your in-laws anymore.

[Hnorc]

What a pathetic person you are. How do you know what this family did or did not do with their money? I hope Karma reaches out and bites you hard.

[Revolt916]

Kelly S. wrote: moving sideof the story
I have NO sympathy for the millionaires and billionaires that lost money because of this guy! They have lived a wonderfully blessed life up until this point. Vacations, cruises, fine cuisine, private jets, $100,000 cars, massive mansions. The list can definately go on.

I am faced everyday with reality that this could be my husbands last day at work. I just found out that his boss is trying to sell his prized camaro that he has has since he was 18 just to keep his shop open. I have NO money saved in the bank (we ate through everything over the summer with those stellar $4.50 a gal. gas prices, and to get propane to heat our home). My father-in-law hasn't worked in two weeks and can't pay his Jan. 1 rent. He might have to move in with us, but we are barely getting by. Even my job is on the block. I know I am no different then anyone else in America, but our story isn't getting front page news, the rich losing thier money is the news, well F*** them!

OH WELL, welcome to the club. We've been dealing with this for the last 6 months.

[Hnorc]

Just remember, someone making less money might have the same feelings towards you.

[Samalabear]

I know your pain. I'm there, too. And it's been more than six months though. Still and all, there were charities that are now wiped out that did help a lot of people such as yourself. The ramifications for that are devastating.

[GerryS]

if you think something is too good to be true- then it is henky-----­----------­----------­---------

[nezumi]

'All we knew was that my wife's entire family had been in the fund for decades and lived well on the returns, which ranged from 15% to 22%.'
Yeah right. 20% annual yield will amount, in sum, to the principal after five years, earlier even, if you reinvest the interest. For four decades? Lucky guys indeed. Even if they took out all the interest, they have received 7 times the amount of the original amount invested (not eight, because the principal is now lost). This makes an annual return over 40 years of 17.5 %. Not so bad indeed. So don't relish so early in the loss of the fat cats. Those early intiated made a sizeable profit. No wonder, complaints about the scam are rather muted.

[Name Not In Use]

Stop knocking the SEC!
They bagged Martha Stewart didn't they?
They still trumpet that fact on their web pages.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2003-69.htm
"Stewart avoided losses of $45,673"
$45,673 !!!!!!
$45,673 !!!!!!
$45,673 !!!!!!

[Samalabear]

Yeah, and Martha served six months to get fanfare and ridicule. Then came Marc Cuban. His infraction is in the six figures and it honestly looks like he'll get away with it. And then there's Madoff. No, I do not know why he is not in a cell. Maybe there's a method to the madness. His wife is being investigated and they have to be others in on this -- and maybe there is an SEC connection? That makes a lot of sense. And while I'm not a huge Martha fan, this woman was excoriated.

[gcallaghan]

If Maddoff ran a Ponzi paying out 20% annually, this guy ought to count his blessings instead of weeping on the web. He made his money back off the later suckers. It was they who lost everything.

[JBS]

"The call came at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. I had been waiting for it for five years."
-- Robert Chew

So, you figured out it had to be a swindle 5 years ago, and didn't do anything about it, 'cause taking the money was so easy.

If you want sympathy, look in a dictionary ... it's in there between sh*t and syphilis.

You didn't get screwed by Madoff. You screwed yourself.

You can't cheat an HONEST man.

[research]

Doesn't everybody ask themselves if "they should have known" after they get robbed?

Oh, and you sure can cheat on honest person.

Cons are professionals, working all day to figure out how to fool you.

Marks are amateurs.

no contest.

[berensma]

Let the author be; he didn't ask for sympathy, he turned it into a story and sold it to Time magazine. Good for him.

[Deli]

The creepy smirk on that criminal's face is pure evil.

[SkuddGobang]

There's something a bit reassuring that a bunch of rich people who thought they were immune to the pain and suffering they caused are also going to be in line at the soup kitchens. Makes me feel.. right somehow.

[Stew118]

Not everybody who lost was rich- believe me. I know some dear friends who lost it all- just under 500k. The guy was about to retire in a couple of years. They didn't even know of the man but their fund invested in him and told them it was diversified. Special place in hell reserved for this guy...