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I Knew Bernie Madoff Was Cheating, That's Why I Invested with Him

Posted Dec 12, 2008 12:45pm EST by Henry Blodget in Investing, Newsmakers, Banking

From ClusterStock.com, Dec. 12, 2008:

Interesting tidbits coming in about Bernie Madoff (read indictment here).

Specifically, we're hearing that the smart money KNEW Bernie had to be cheating, because the returns he was generating were impossibly good.  Many Wall Streeters suspected the wrong rigged game, though: They thought it was insider trading, not a Ponzi scheme. And here's the best part: That's why they invested with him.

For years and years I've heard people say that [Bernie's] investment performance was too good to be true. The returns were too steady -- like GE earnings under Welch -- and too high given the supposed strategy.

One Madoff investor, himself a legend, told me that Madoff's performance "just doesn't make sense. The numbers can't be straight." Another sophisticated Madoff investor actually went through trade confirms in order to reverse-engineer the strategy and said, "it doesn't add up."

So why did these smart and skeptical investors keep investing? They, like many Madoff investors, assumed Madoff was somehow illegally trading on information from his market-making business for their benefit. They didn't consider the possibility that he was clean on that score but running a good old-fashioned Ponzi scheme.

And another from Whitney Tilson:

One friend who saw this coming said Madoff had his own broker-dealer and a relative as his finance guy; another friend said he was suspicious because of the 1-2%/month returns with never a down month (much less quarter or year), combined with never showing a a down month (much less quarter or year), combined with never showing anyone his portfolio.  99% of the time, if it sounds too good to be true, IT IS!

Got your own Bernie Madoff stories?  Please send them in. (hblodget@alleyinsider.com).

See Also: Bernie Madoff: The Indictment

 

385 Comments

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Friday December 12, 2008 01:24PM EST

SignUP sheet in LAW SCHOOL

Anh
Anh - Friday December 12, 2008 01:26PM EST

I found it very disturbing: 50 B; by fooling investors. While automakers could not secure 15 B to run their businesses? This marvel guy should be in jail for life, plus penalties and wealth confiscations. Meanwhile, why nobody get nailed in the 700 B bail out of the financials? Where are the mortgage brokers, the ones who signed and approved those loans? Nobody gets convicted nor investigated !

Yvethe
Yvethe - Friday December 12, 2008 01:27PM EST

sad part is they probably would bail him out

- Friday December 12, 2008 01:28PM EST

reedersong...Buffet isn't hiding anything. Why don't you go through all of his quarterly and annual reports. He has a proven investment strategy that everyone knows about. you're an idiot...i must be one too for even wasting my time replying to your idiotic comment. Get a life.

Danny
Danny - Friday December 12, 2008 01:29PM EST

I definetely think that we should this guy out. I mean, what is $50 billion on top of the 750 we have already thrown out the door. You know what, we should bail out everybody, that will take care of everything. This is one of the funniest quotes I have read in a while: "Let's bail him out". Great stuff.

Fredo
Fredo - Friday December 12, 2008 01:29PM EST

meetdave made me spill milk out of my nose after reading his post

Richard
Richard - Friday December 12, 2008 01:30PM EST

He stole those money, does that make him the richest men in the world?

Danny
Danny - Friday December 12, 2008 01:31PM EST

You guys know what I would like to understand about this ponzi thing? How the hell does a guy trick people out of $50 billion and no-one knows until he HIMSELF spills the beans. What a jerk??? Where was the SEC and all the other regulatory crap we have?? Are they actually regulating anything???

Robert
Robert - Friday December 12, 2008 01:31PM EST

Is this a great country ... or what...

mikeyd
mikeyd - Friday December 12, 2008 01:32PM EST

Fry him. Put a wad of cash in his mouth and turn on the juice. Pay per view!

Robert
Robert - Friday December 12, 2008 01:33PM EST

Is this a great country ... or what...

do dah
do dah - Friday December 12, 2008 01:34PM EST

And why, pray tell, are our legislators not being indicted, en masse, for directing funds, which were specifically to be used for social security payments, into the "general" operating funds of the US govt? If you, and your accountant, dear friends, did thus you'd be facing charging as of last week.

James
James - Friday December 12, 2008 01:34PM EST

He should be Castrated.

Louisiana
Louisiana - Friday December 12, 2008 01:35PM EST

During the dotcom bubble, everyone was making fun of Buffet because he was not buying in, just holding fruit of the loom. Buffet invests in your underwear, most of you guys invest in the crap in your underwear.

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Friday December 12, 2008 01:35PM EST

What does Henry Blodget know about crooked Wall Street dealings? Why is he snickering at Madoff's dilemma?

John
John - Friday December 12, 2008 01:36PM EST

So ... where were the CPA's who audited the fund? Of course, the audits were performed in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Principles? Investors - save your Annual Fund Statements with the Annual Audit Reports ... gotta bet, the lawyers smell blood on this one

prowater
prowater - Friday December 12, 2008 01:37PM EST

How many similar scheme's are going on right now and how big are the total losses. Is this the first shoe to drop? The USA must look like real dopes around the world where we promote our way of life. Is our financial system going to take the big flush in 2009. Times are scary.

jim
jim - Friday December 12, 2008 01:37PM EST

Lads, I find it hard to swallow the jovialness if not fluff involved in reporting on this atrocity...whether the investors were wildly rich or middle class people, most if not all are now completely gutted...how about a bit of indepth reporting on how this was made to happen, where was the breakdown in rules that allow these kinds of schemes to prosper, and what investors should beware of IF they are to trust a group with such storied 'credentials'...simply failing to find the humor and backslapping embued in this story's presentation! Expecting more from you both!

- Friday December 12, 2008 01:38PM EST

sign me up 2 for this thing

Yahoo! Finance User
Yahoo! Finance User - Friday December 12, 2008 01:38PM EST

I agree with "who cares" - shoot him - now before Bush leaves office, OR have Bush declare him a terrorist and send him to Gitmo in Cuba. These people who rip off the little guy do not deserve any decent treatment - 5 milllion bail for 50 billion scheme - the judge is out of contact with reality.

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