How did Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme work?

Did You Know? Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme Did you know that one man was able to con tens of billions of dollars from investors? Over the course of multiple decades, Bernie Madoff operated the largest Ponzi scheme in history. A Ponzi scheme is a type of scam that promises significant returns on investments. But in reality, the payouts come from money new contributors have invested. The term is named for Carlo Ponzi, a 20th-century Italian immigrant to the United States who made millions of dollars fraudulently promising to double investments to those buying into his plan to sell stamps. Though his scheme lasted only a couple months, Madoff’s Ponzi scheme lasted for decades. Madoff founded Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and used his relationships and prestige to get wealthy businesspeople to invest their money with him. He even served as a NASDAQ director for three terms. Investigators posited that the scheme originated in the early 1980s and continued into the 21st century. The global economic crisis in 2008 caused investors to try to withdraw billions of dollars. However, Madoff didn’t have enough funds available, and the scheme collapsed. Estimates of the investors’ losses ranged from 50 billion to 65 billion dollars. In 2009 Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. Although he was 71 years old, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison, a symbolic ruling that kept him behind bars until his death on April 14, 2021.