Bernie Madoff

Bernie Madoff was an American financier who operated a massive Ponzi scheme, exposed in 2008. He pleaded guilty to securities fraud and related crimes in 2009.

Ponzi scheme: A fraud that pays earlier investors with money taken from later investors while concealing the lack of legitimate returns. Madoff’s investment business used this structure to mimic consistent profits.
Wall Street: The financial district of New York City and, by extension, the U.S. securities industry. Madoff built his reputation and firm within this financial world.
Ruth Madoff: Bernie Madoff’s wife, who remained outside the criminal prosecution of his fraud. Her public association with Madoff made her a focus of the scheme’s personal aftermath.
Madoff investment scandal victims: Investors and organizations that lost money through Madoff’s fraudulent investment operation. Their losses drove the restitution process and public response to the case.
Hedge fund: A pooled investment vehicle that uses a range of strategies to seek returns for its investors. Unlike a legitimate hedge fund, Madoff’s operation did not generate the reported investment returns.
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities: The brokerage firm founded by Madoff, which also housed the fraudulent investment-advisory operation. The firm’s advisory operation was the vehicle for the scheme.
NASDAQ: A U.S. electronic stock exchange founded in 1971 and a major marketplace for technology shares. Madoff helped establish NASDAQ’s predecessor organization and served as its chairman.
Mark Madoff: Bernie Madoff’s elder son and an executive at the family firm, who reported his father’s confession to authorities. He and his brother alerted authorities after Madoff disclosed the fraud.
Madoff Recovery Initiative: The U.S. government program established to compensate victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. It distributed recovered assets and forfeitures to eligible victims.
Mutual fund: An investment company that pools money from shareholders to buy a portfolio of securities. Regulated pooled investing differs from Madoff’s fabricated account activity and false statements.

Linked from 4 pages

Elizabeth HolmesCompared with: The comparison separates Holmes’s startup-based investor deception from a fabricated investment operation.