The Madoff Affair

The Madoff Affair involved Bernie Madoff orchestrating one of the largest and most devastating investment frauds in history. He operated a Ponzi scheme, paying earlier investors with the money from new investors, rather than generating legitimate profits. Over decades, he collected billions of dollars from thousands of clients worldwide. When the scheme collapsed in 2008 amid financial crisis pressures, it was revealed that approximately $65 billion in client assets had been lost or unrecovered. Madoff was arrested, sentenced to 150 years in prison, and the scandal prompted widespread reforms in financial regulation and investor protection.