Bernard Madoff will plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud Thursday, said Scot Paltrow in Portfolio.com, and since there won’t be a trial, prosecutors will present “criminal information” papers that might, finally, shine some light on the main mysteries of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme: “How much money did investors really lose? And where did it go?” Madoff claimed his fraud cost $50 billion, but his investors likely have significantly less capital at stake—maybe $17 billion.
Then why are federal prosecutors seeking $170 billion in restitution? said Owen Thomas in Gawker. “Don’t they understand the nature of a Ponzi scheme—that the money’s gone?” I guess Madoff can contemplate that bit of “gallows humor” as he’s spending the rest of his life behind bars.
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