Bernie Madoff: Could he have acted alone?

I have been following the massive 50 billion dollar fraud on Wall Street with a great deal of interest, sorrow and wonder.

A pillar of the investment community Mr Bernie Madoff, allegedly defrauded investors of 50 billion (that's right BILLION) dollars in the biggest Ponzi Scheme in history.

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And he reportedly did it alone.

I am sure that the truth will out during the course of the investigations.

But is it conceivable that he acted alone?

Yes.

Alone in the sense that he controlled the scheme alone, he must have had "soldiers" doing some of the paper work.

But I don't believe his family knew what he was doing, they were fooled, made dupes.

Bernie Madoff is without doubt a master of manipulation, a very powerful personality and he was an institution on Wall Street.

These factors give you the basis for any successful illusion; smoke and mirrors.

He used the "mirror" of his reputation on Wall Street and his record of many years of constant, stable investment growth to hide behind and to blind investors and the regulatory authorities to the truth.

His reputation was a powerful shield.

Prior to events of the recent past who would have accused Bernie Madoff, a paragon of Wall Street, an ex Chairman of Nasdaq, a man of unimpeachable integrity with the highest reputation of probity in his financial dealings of fraud?

I would say that it would be a very brave SEC civil servant who would have dared make that claim. The man had powerful friends and allies who trusted him and who would have defended him.

A lot has also been said about the fact that his family occupied all the senior positions in his company and that they must have known what he was up to.

No.

I would say that Bernie Madoff was held in absolute awe by his family, awe verging on veneration. He probably ran a patriarchal family structure that was not open to sharing and caring and exchanging confidences over the dinner table.

I suggest that no one ever thought to question his decisions, he ran the unit where the fraud occurred, his sons worked in the broker division.

Would you think that your father, with his reputation, a man you venerate was busy with a massive fraud scheme?

I know I wouldn't.

Love and family fealty can blind you to the obvious. Until one day the scales drop off your eyes and it is to late to even try and save your own reputation.

Maybe he did act alone?

Remember also that his son's reported him although it could be argued that they had no choice.

What would you have done if it was your father?