White Collar Crime

White Collar Crime

Bernard Madoff and his behavior

The year 2008 came as a setback for some with the crash of the stock market; however for few it marked the collapse of their well-running business empire. Bernard L. Madoff pleaded guilty for eleven federal charges against felonies revolving around securities fraud, perjury and money laundering in the year 2009, as a result of the events that took place in 2008. He successfully managed and ran Ponzi scheme for as long as four decades, as per the investigation undertaken by the relevant authorities, federal investigators and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). In contrast to that, Madoff asserted that he started working on it in the 1990's. Working as a stock broker on the Wall Street being a founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, he also began operating as investment advisor as a side business to his investment firm with the operations being undertaken under the radar. An estimated amount of $65 billion from the clients' account inclusive of fabricated gains has been identified as lost to the scheme, whilst the actual losses stand at $18 billion. As a result of pleading guilty, Madoff has been sentenced to 150 years of imprisonment effective since 2009.

Considering that the clientele of Madoff primarily consisted primarily of his close relatives and friends who trusted him and in return made investment in his business, his behavior could at best be explained as antisocial. A personality disorder in which one makes him/ herself withdrawn from those around him and their issues is what seems to explain the behavior of Bernard Madoff, known widely as Antisocial Personality Disorder. It could be defined by the lack of regards for any legal as well as moral standards. In fact the person suffering from the disorder depicts inability to comply ...