Madoff Confessed $50 Billion Fraud

Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff confessed to two sons this week that his investment advisory business was “a giant Ponzi scheme” that cost clients $50 billion.

Bernard Madoff was influential with the Nasdaq Stock Market, serving as chairman of the board of directors in 1990, 1991 and 1993, according to a Nasdaq spokeswoman.

‘One Big Lie’
He said he had “absolutely nothing,” that “it’s all just one big lie,” and that it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme,” Agent Cacioppi wrote in the complaint. The senior employees understood Madoff to be saying he had paid investors for years out of principal from other investors, the agent wrote.

Bernard Madoff Charged With Securities Fraud, WSJ Says

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard L. Madoff, the founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, was arrested, the Wall Street Journal said.

Madoff was charged with criminal securities fraud by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the newspaper reported.

Lehman Files for Bankruptcy; Merrill Is Sold

Sep 14 2008

In one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street’s history, Merrill Lynch agreed to sell itself on Sunday to Bank of America for roughly $50 billion to avert a deepening financial crisis, while another prominent securities firm, Lehman Brothers, filed for bankruptcy protection and hurtled toward liquidation after it failed to find a buyer.