Bernie Madoff less of a scumbag than previously thought

Madoff's Ponzi Scheme: $50 Billion Figure May Be Fictitious

Bernard Madoff and $50 billion. His name and that number have become inseparable in describing the enormity of what has been called the largest white-collar fraud in history. It's a figure that has helped demonize Madoff and relegate big-time money managers charged in subsequent securities schemes to mere "mini-Madoff" status.

Investigators claim Madoff himself told them that he stole $50 billion, but it is becoming increasingly clear that the number may be as fictitious as the sprawling fraud that he allegedly ran.
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Harbeck said he believes the $50 billion estimate is unreliable because it "includes entirely fictitious profits" that Madoff said he brought investors over the years. Even the $17.1 billion that the SEC recorded last year as being held by Madoff Investment Securities LLC _ once thought to be the legitimate side of his operation _ "does not appear to reflect reality," he added.

Oh, well then, only $17 billion. The man's practically a saint. What's all the fuss? I wonder if we can bail him out to cover his losses?

First he lies about his company, lies about the profits, then lies about how much he stole? Some people. I hope he feels bad about lying about exactly how many billions he thieved.

So, however big of a douchebag you thought Bernie Madoff was, reduce that number by half. He's still probably one of the biggest Wall Street scumfucks there ever was (an boy what an achievement that is) but let's not give the man any undue credit. So, if you thought he needed to spend a month in the public stockades, it's probably more like 2 weeks/a week and a half. To add insult to injury, as long as the TARP fund is handing out money to Wall Street, Bernie didn't even run the biggest Ponzi scheme ever. Some guys never win.