It’s a fitting sentence, even if it won’t ever make up for the harm Bernard Madoff did to the many investors he defrauded. Madoff received a 150-year prison term Monday for masterminding one of the largest, and most far-reaching, Ponzi schemes in history. At 71, Madoff won’t complete that sentence, obviously, so the century-and-a-half punishment is more symbolic than anything else.
Among Madoff’s 13,000 nationwide victims were at least 2,000 Floridians. However, the damage spread much wider than the numbers suggest.
Because so many wealthy and affluent people lost so much, for example, contributions to local charities that help disadvantaged people have seen a drop-off in donations. The needy people who depend on such assistance can also call themselves Madoff victims.
When he entered his guilty plea in March, Madoff acknowledged he was “deeply sorry and ashamed.” Don’t expect anyone to feel even the slightest pity today. The damage is too deep, and those who lost so much can never be made whole again.
So what good will the 150-year sentence levied at Madoff do? Not much beyond this exceptional case — unless stiff penalties become a deterrent for financial crimes.
Though the numbers in the Madoff case were of historic proportions, Ponzi schemes, and other types of financial frauds, are not. They are pretty routine. It’s important that even smaller frauds draw severe punishments, too.Crooks, large or small, must pay for their misdeeds.
— Sun Sentinel, Fort Lauderdale
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