ONE OF THE LARGEST PONZI IN HISTORY

Bernard Madoff, founder and president of a New York firm that invested funds for wealthy individuals, was arrested by FBI for his Ponzi Scheme operating. That long-running $ 50 billion Ponzi scheme turned to be one of the largest frauds in history. However, Madoff denies prosecution. If he is found guilty he will face as much as 20 years in prison and a $ 5 million fine. The business experts consider him one of the pioneers of modern Wall Street. And his firm was among the leaders in financial service industry. It took the 23rd place in largest market makers on Nasdaq in October, handling a daily average of about 50 million shares a day. This firm specialized in handling orders from online brokers in some of the largest U. S. companies, including General Electric Co. and Citigroup Inc.

Madoff's business partners were shocked by the news. Some of them refuse to believe it, some are surprised by the ongoing financial situation.

The SEC in its compliant accused Madoff of a “multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that he perpetrated on advisory clients of his firm”. It was found that Madoff ran his investment advisory business from a separate floor of his firm's office, keeping financial statements “under lock and key”. Early in December he told one employee that clients wanted to redeem about $ 7 billion and that he was struggling to free up the funds. After he told another staff member Dec. 9 that he wanted to pay annual bonuses before the year's end, two months early, a pair of senior employees asked to speak with him. They had been noticed ha had been suffering from a “great deal of stress” and wanted to know what was happening.

However, Madoff confessed just to FBI on Dec. 11. He said it was his fault and he had “paid investors with money that wasn't there”. He also admitted he was “insolvent”. And he is more likely to expected to go to jail.