Comments on: Madoff Sentence "Legally Suspect And Grossly Unfair"

[Jmailloux]

What this man did was not a crime of a 150 year prison sentence. I feel sorry for this man yes what he did was wrong, but we have much greater problems in our world today than a man who committed a crime to make money. Give him a sentence of a bank robber not a murderer.

[omnibus66]

The base federal sentencing guideline for bank robbery is 20 years. That is, 20 years per bank. So if you use the average amount of about $25,000 loss per bank robbery (federal statistic), Madoff robbed the equivalent of several hundred thousand banks. Given that, his sentence was rather light.

[richnie]

Cohen is right. Bernie should have only got about 20-25 years - in the electric chair.

[hego48]

Shalom Weiss, Keith Pound and Norman Schmidt were sentenced to 845, 740 and 330 years respectively. They may have been in other states but they still dwarf Madoffs sentance. I would presume Mr Cohen knew off these cases but chose to ignore them. Why?. Presumably because they did not fit in with his argument that poor Bernie was being victimised. Given that in the United States you can be sentenced to life imprisonment for stealing cookies, golf clubs or 9 videotapes I fail to see why Bernie Madoff requires our sympathies. Despite Mr Cohens protestations to the contrary it smacks to me of an attitude that white collar crime is somehow not that bad, a victimless crime so to speak.

As an aside, you may or may not agree with the concept or administration of Social Security but it is not a Ponzi Scheme. I say this because an essential element of a Ponzi Scheme is that no one knows that new money is being used to pay existing investors. By definition, The fact that tinpot knows this contradicts his assertions.

[formrusmcsgt]

Cohen's an idiot.

Madoff wouldn't have survived the 25-year sentence Cohen's calling for so what difference does it make how many years will be left unserved after Madoff's death?

[tincup356]

Bernie was not running the biggest fraud in the world,,,,,,that record goes to the United States government,,,,,have you never heard of Social security?,,,,,,It is the same type of fraud except,,,,it is much bigger than Bernie's scheme,,,,,,and it robs EVERYONE who works and pays in. Congress is full of greedy white collar suit and tie TREASONOUS scumbags,,,,BOTH parties.

[DDictador1]

I hope the author of this article wrote it to stir controversy because it is honestly one of the most nonsensical pieces I have read to date. That being said, I do not understand his argument against the LARGEST fraud in history, supposedly stemming from one person, receiving the LARGEST sentence...seems logical to me. The Madoff case far exceeds the legal monetary guidelines for any fraud by a single person in US history. Denny Chin was absolutely correct in sending a stern message to future fraudsters. I can't even believe the moron that wrote this article wouldn't embrace this message... this is America, let's put some real legal standards in place to prevent future frauds of this magnitude. Oh yeah, let's fire everyone at the SEC too- great preventative work this year!

[tincup356]

Bernie was not running the biggest fraud in the world,,,,,,that record goes to the United States government,,,,,have you never heard of Social security?,,,,,,It is the same type of fraud except,,,,it is much bigger than Bernie's scheme,,,,,,and it robs EVERYONE who works and pays in. Congress is full of greedy white collar suit and tie TREASONOUS scumbags,,,,BOTH parties.

[hankster81]

Where does it say that prison sentences are not revenge, per se? Revenge is certainly a factor as is retribution. Madoff cannot be rehabilitated certainly, so the #1 motivator in this sentence is revenge closely followed by deterrence. 150 years in a case like this is permissible so what's the wrong in it given the gravity of this monstrous crime. The reasoning here is very intellectually lazy.

[justcurious777]

Well said! I don't know but I'd guess that none of the others Mr. Cohen mentioned stole to the tune of 3 BILLION dollars. He shouldn't get to sit and enjoy himself either. He should have to WORK with his back and his hands and every dime he earns should be given to those he stole from...most of them are going to have to work until the end of their lives (Thanks to Madoff) so why shouldn't he?

[ABM_21]

I see the reasoning behind your statement, but I disagree with them wholeheartedly. To hint that maybe a judge bowed to pressure in this particular case is absurd. Mr. Madoff schemed and lived off the money his clients gave him to invest for him. His was a reputation forged by deceit and lies. Not only did he bilk the people who gave him their money---in some cases, their life savings---to invest on their behalf, he actively recruited more victims. There is no sentence harsh enough in all of jurisprudence for Mr. Madoff. For some, 150 years may be too much. For me, it doesn't even come close enough to punishment for this guy...

[davidvm--2008]

All of the other sentences you specifically mention are for crimes that occurred over relatively short time frames (2-3 years) and involve far less money (even taken together).

These other criminals were also parts of larger groups that acted in concert - the Enron disaster could not have happened without complicity from several corporate officers and a well-known well-respected auditor.

In the Madoff case the fraud seems to have lasted 17 years, and while there was an auditor involved it was a single individual. Madoff basically committed his fraud on his own (although it could not have continued without the trust of those around him who chose not to verify anything he told them).

I think those factors - magnitude and length of the fraud and individual culpability - make this case unique and the sentence sound.