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Bernard Madoff died in prison April 14. He was 82 and was serving a 150-year sentence for having operated the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Investor losses totaled $64.8 billion, inclusive of phantom investment gains appearing on fraudulent account statements.
A Ponzi scheme involves using new investor money to make payments to prior investors, thereby causing everyone to think there is actually a moneymaking business at work when, in fact, the perpetrator is looting the enterprise. What you might not know is where the name “Ponzi scheme” came from. The answer is: Charles Ponzi. He was born in Italy in 1882 and came to the United States — to Boston — in 1903. Ponzi had $2.51 in his pocket at that time, having gambled away the rest of his money on board the ship from Italy.
After various minor financial crimes in…
