Madoff Victims Vent Their Anger In Print

Letters And E-Mails To Sentencing Judge Money Manager "Scum"; Ruth Madoff Mum After Visiting Husband In Jail

(CBS)  One victim called him a Bastard, with a capital B. Another labeled him "scum" and "a vicious animal." Still another wrote, "I feel like I have been economically raped."

Graphic, intense, fairly boiling with anger, the words and phrases can be found in 113 e-mails and letters sent to U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin by some of the those who suffered at the hands of Bernard L. Madoff in anticipation of Chin's scheduled sentencing of Madoff on June 29.

The letters and e-mails were posted online late Monday afternoon as part of a 141-page court filing in the case.

"At the age of 89, I find myself and my wife devoid of future hope," wrote a man named Paul Allen. "I find it hard to believe what he did to us and ... all the charities affected by this Bastard."

"Mr. Madoff has not only stolen my money," wrote Richard Shapiro of Hidden Hills, Calif. "He has stolen my lifestyle and my family's Lifestyle. We as a result, are sentenced to a life devoid of our life savings and the security and comfort that provided to us."

"I implore you to put him away and throw the key down the sewer," wrote Ron Weinstein of New York City. "This scum should never again see the light of day."

It is unlikely Madoff will see or read any such venom. Now housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, he likely spends most of his time leading the sort of mind-numbing routine previously unknown to the one-time Wall Street titan. His lone contact, it appears, comes in the form of an occasional visit by his longtime wife Ruth.

CBS News caught up with Ruth Madoff shortly after a visit with her husband earlier this month. She refused to answer any of our questions, saying, "I have no comments at this time on any subject."

Ruth Madoff's reluctance to speak means she's following the advice of her attorney, says CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "There's still the potential for her to be investigated, charged, tried and convicted," said Cohen. "It's logical that investigators would look to see if she had any knowledge of what was going on."

Meanwhile, thousands of victims of Bernie Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme are awaiting their own financial fate.

As of June 11, 2009, more than 8,000 potential investor claims have been filed and only 371 of those claims have been accepted, totaling $1.02 billion. The deadline for Madoff victims to file a SIPC claim is July 2.

Attorney Irving Picard, the court-appointed Trustee in the case, told CBS News that to date he has collected $1.225 billion "subject to court approval of a settlement proposal." Picard is seeking a total of $10.1 million to help repay investors.

In other Madoff news, CBS News has learned:

The Securities and Exchange Commission has made what it calls "substantial" progress into an internal investigation of how it missed Madoff's scam for so long. SEC Inspector General David Kotz says he has reviewed more than 1.3 million e-mails and interviewed 44 witnesses regarding Madoff's investment and securities firm. The final report on how the SEC missed Madoff is expected in August.

Madoff, 71, was arrested in his Manhattan penthouse apartment on Dec. 11, 2008. In March he pleaded guilty to all charges, including several counts of money laundering and securities fraud. He faces up to 150 years in prison.

No other member of the Madoff family, including Ruth Madoff, brother Peter - the company's chief compliance officer - and sons Andrew and Mark - who ran the firm's trading activities - have been charged in the case.

Below: Ruth Madoff had no comment for reporters when she visited her husband at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Lower Manhattan, N.Y.

[sanjosemike]

NOT ALL MADOFF "INVESTORS" WERE WEALTHY, NONE RECEIVED OUTSIDE VERIFICATIONS OF HOLDINGS

Of course some were wealthy, but a great many were not. The one thing that I'm confused about (maybe some can help me here), is the fact that Madoff Investors never asked for (or obtained) outside verification of their purchases and holdings.

For example, many years ago, when I first started investing, I wondered if visits to stockholder's meetings were tax deductible (they are not, by the way). I recieved (and still do) outside verification of fund portfolios, prospectuses, proxy meeting and vote requests,yearly reports, etc. from my various holdings. (Now I get them by e-mail).

Madoff "investors" never got these, because they never were actually invested. Perhaps in the original agreement, Madoff had them "sign-off" receiving these verifications, etc.

I NEVER would have done that. I still receive them and I still want them to come to me. I am hardly a genius. I am a retired doctor, but far from an expert on financial issues.

I think most investors now still don't demand those notices and verifications. I admit I don't understand them, but I still want them.

How about you? Do you get yours' by mail or e-mail? Have your investment advisors signed you off from getting them? If so, why?

It makes a huge difference. During the recession many of us lost 25-35% of our holdings' values. But we didn't lose EVERYTHING. We were actually invested. Madoff investors were not.

sanjosemike

[mahdeealoo]

He and all his business cronies - relatives alike, should be incarcerated or taken to an island where they can live in abject poverty without a phone, TV or decent housing and food. No luxuries, not even a bicycle. Sans champagne and caviar.

[cgrantski]

I'm glad to see there aren't many comments on this item. I don't care about these wealthy people and I don't see this as news.

[gosstom]

It seems like the gvt. is adopting a hands-off policy on Bernies' sons and business partners. It is like believing the World War II was completely conducted and executed by Adolph Hitler alone. It is just not logical. Practically speaking, I'd much rather have dinner with Hitler than Madoff. Bernie is a much more sleazier character than Adolph ever was.

[TheMasses0003]

They CHOSE to invest in an unregistered fund that did not afford them the same protections as a registered fund would because they expected to get astronomical returns. And they didn't do the basics of due diligence.

---------------------
Wrong!
Scroll up and read the 100s of e-mails from the investors. They were average earning people that invested in very low risk/low return investments.
Dummy.

[number1GI]

I truely am sorry for all those people who were scammed by Bernie Madoff. I think his scheme seemed so tight that it had to be a good deal and not a scam. It has ruined the possibilities for real investment companies to get investors now.
So what good old Bernie did was screw up more than the people who thought he was straight. He screwed up the whole investment business.

[number1GI]

I truely am sorry for all those people who were scammed by Bernie Madoff. I think his scheme seemed so tight that it had to be a good deal and not a scam. It has ruined the possibilities for real investment companies to get investors now.
So what good old Bernie did was screw up more than the people who thought he was straight. He screwed up the whole investment business.

[carolhill814]

You to a certain degree I do feel sorry for the people that put their money with Madoff but they knew that were getting a lot more money for their buck than anyone else but they were enjoying that money never even questioning how they were getting such a high interest.
I think they really didn't care as long they were getting the money they needed to live.
When the bubble burst they lost everything they really didn't have in the first place but now the reality came into view and they really didn't like it at all and that is the way it is.

MAY GOD BLESS THE INNOCENT PEOPLE THAT WERE TAKEN DOWN BY THIS HORRIBLE MAN NOW AND FOR ALL TIME!!!

[DisappointedDemocrat]

IT REALLY IS A SHAME WHEN THE LEFT HAND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT HAND IS DOING. SO MANY FINGERS ON THAT RIGHT HAND CHEATED ALL THOSE FINGERS ON THE LEFT. NOW, MADOFF SITS IN PRISON, BIDING HIS TIME, AND WAITING FOR THE DAY WHEN HE'LL GET OUT OF PRISON, AND GUESS WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO? VACATION, ANYONE? HE HAD PLENTY HELP, AND IT'S A SHAME. HE'S STILL GOING TO LIVE IN THE LAP OF LUXURY. HIS WIFE JUST HAS TO KEEP UP HER END OF THE DEAL. SHE'S GOT TO PRETEND TO BE BITTER AND POOR, FOR A LITTLE LONGER. THEN, PAY DIRT, ON SOMEONE ELSE'S DIME. WOW! IT SOUNDS JUST LIKE AMERICAN JUSTICE. IN THE MEANTIME, KEEP THE CAMERAS ROLLING. IT'S GOT TO AT LEAST LOOK GOOD.

[carolhill814]

The thing is the very rich always comes out smelling like a rose no matter what they do or no do and that is the way life is!!!

[diamruby]

They are just rich scum bags who ruined many lives & they, along with anyone else involved should be stripped of all possessions right down to their household belongings & be given the death penalty or at the very least a life in prison among the general population. They have lived the life of luxory on our dime & laughed at us every day while putting us on the street too old to get a job & none of the money we worked our guts out for. We hope they have eternal pain & suffering here & in the next life which is too good for them. This type of scheme should never happen & yet it happens daily by people that are friends & trusted businesses. We need a change in our system & more control to protect us.

[quapawsix]

Good example for the reasons for dumping the monetary system and the credit system.

[midwestkris]

The outrage of it all is that funds such as the Madoff fund were not subject to the basic regulation. "Qualified" funds are not even registered with the SEC, and when they tried to require registration, the SEC was stopped by the Courts. Funds of this nature are comprised strictly of so=called "qualified" investors who, by their income levels and/or asset levels are considered able to make their own financial decisions. As an unregistered fund, Madoff's fund did not have to provide the SEC with even basic financial reporting information. While the SEC did get some information from a whistle=blower that the fund had problems, the evidence was hearsay and statistical, not hard evidence, and the only way to get the relevant financial information was sub poena Further, as a relatively small and underfunded goverment agency, they do not have the resources to investigate every potential fraud (the entire SEC is smaller than the corporate accounting division of most major corporations...) I personally would prefer that they put the limited resources they have toward protecting the average investor...not the so-called "qualified" investor who is supposed to have adequate background, knowledge, and training to make informed decisions and to know what information they need to make such informed decisions.

I feel sorry for Madoff's victims, certainly. But not TOO sorry. They based investing decisions on a "good old boy" network instead of on due diligence. They accepted "too good to be true" returns without due diligence. They didn't care that the fund wasn't audited by a respected audit firm (a single auditor with one client, the Madoff fund, should have been their first clue). They believed an individual, Maddoff, because he seemed like a nice guy and he promised them returns the "average" investor couldn't get because the "average" investor doesn't have the income/assets to invest in a fund like Madoff's. They CHOSE to invest in an unregistered fund that did not afford them the same protections as a registered fund would because they expected to get astronomical returns. And they didn't do the basics of due diligence.

Is it a shame they lost large amounts of money? Absolutely. Do they share in the blame? Absolutely.

[ekucrew]

One of the best posts in some time regarding Madoff and those investors that chose to get into bed with him.

[naj1953]

I totally agree. I think they share the blame. The people who were his victims totally thought it was ok when they were banking the money.

[docpeter1953]

Prior to Dec 2008 the clients all believed he had an uncanny ability to make them money and these investors didn't want him touched by the SEC.

by cbsblogger June 15, 2009 5:28 PM PDT

_______________________________

And there you have it in a nut shell.

The p1ssed-off investors enjoyed the string of quick easy and bountiful $$. They really didn't want the SEC in this as they are now finding out. Now that the SEC is involved guess who is losing.

The SEC was warned many years back by a whistleblower that this was a Ponzi scheme, but they did nothing. Your Govt. at work.

[airboatboy]

So he gets life in prison. The ironic part is the taxpayers will be paying for his room and board. Ol' Bernie will still be rippin' people off and laughing about it.

[DisappointedDemocrat]

DON'T FOOL YOURSELVES. BERNIE IS NOT GOING TO SPEND HIS LIFE IN PRISON. HE'LL BE OUT IN NO TIME. THE MONEY'S BEEN SENT OVER TO ISRAEL. SO, PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM.

[patriot2381]

Ponzi activities are illegal, but it's a pretty fine line to government or financial arenas or lotteries, where the sheeple are exploited legally.

[armyoftwelve]

Is John_Merritt aka "Slinky?"

none of the comments made by madoff's victims amount to a hill of beans. What we need are better regulators and regulations.

[tautomer]

It will be interesting to see, when all is said and done, how much of this money found it's way directly or indirectly into supporting the Obama Presidential Campaign. I don't mean the $600 Billion that Obama "raised", that's bupkahs. I mean the underground stuff, buying media loyalty and positive portrayal; making things like the Rezko thing "go away"....the cost of the koolaid, so to speak. The "real money".

The scary part is that Obama may now have paid that money back under the table with his $700 Billion dollar "Giveaway"...uh, I mean.."throwaway". Nobody would have noticed, heck they aren't even keeping track of it!


So now you'd Bernie "borrowing" 60 Billion from these charities and whatnot, to fund the largest media buyoff in history. Then Obama gets elected, turns around and returns the money hidden in the $700 Billion from the public coffers. The money now resides with it original owners in unregistered bonds of the sya the Chinese, Russian, Indian and Suadi governments. For their part, these nations get a United States headed by an impotent puppet who will deliver what they ask.

Interesting.

Madoff was a big political contributor

[antoniof123]

Yes Madoff was a big political contributor but to the Republican party not to Obama.

But this is not about Republicans or Democrats it is about a person who was so full of greed and coruption and we the American people we too busy to realize that de-regulation would bring us this. Stop trying to blame others for your actions.

[DisappointedDemocrat]

IT'S THE AMERICAN WAY. THE BIG O IS A WHITE MAN IN A DARK SUIT. DID YOU THINK HE WAS GOING TO DO ANY DIFFERENT? HE HASN'T THROWN OR SENT ANY OF THOSE WONDERFUL FUNDS MY WAY. I'VE BEEN A STRUGGLING NURSE AND TEACHER FOR MANY YEARS. NOW, JUST AS IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR ME TO BOW OUT, THIS BOOM IS LOWERED. HALF THE WORLD OWNS MOST OF AMERICA, SO DON'T WAIT FOR THEIR TEARS. THEY DIDN'T GIVE MUCH IF ANY TO THE BIG O. THEY HAVE TO KEEP IT FOR THE VACATION OF A CENTURY THEY'LL TAKE, AS SOON AS BERNIE GETS OUT. IT WON'T BE VERY LONG. THEY JUST HAVE TO KEEP UP THE FARCE. WAIT FOR IT. WAIT FOR IT. IT'S ALMOST HERE.

[cbsblogger]

The outrage of it all for both all Americans and for the victims was that the SEC "missed" investigating Bernie Madoff because Madoff had powerful investor (now victims) friends and friends in Congress such as Schumer and others who made sure that he wasn't investigated.

Prior to Dec 2008 the clients all believed he had an uncanny ability to make them money and these investors didn't want him touched by the SEC.

[DisappointedDemocrat]

THEY WERE ALL SENDING THE MONEY OFF SHORE. IT WOULD BE SOMETHING IF THEY SEARCHED IT OUT IN ISRAEL. YOU KNOW THAT'S WHERE IT IS. PRAY FOR THE PEACE OF JERUSALEM!

[John_Merritt]

I really have not been following this case, but from what I could ascertain has been going on a long time. What cannot be determined as of yet is this could never have been perpetrated, unless many knew of its operation. Many aside from his family and friends.

It is easy to point fingers, but when the dust settles I believe you will find many who participated in this grand scheme. I would hope that during the trial, or after Bernie tells everybody what happened. I also believe from the pictures I have seen he demonstrates being forelorn, but a far cry from remorseful. If he has a conscience, and he does he needs to blow the top off everything he knows inside and outside his oprganization. Turn states evidence and name people, places and things.

There is no way this could have gone on so long without MANY people knowing what it was he was doing and where the money was going. I have my own suspicions but that is pure speculation and thats it.

Given enough time, the truth ALWAYS comes out. Always.