BERNIE MADOFF

Bernie Madoff, for at least 20 years, ran a Ponzi scheme on thousands of clients: business leaders, celebrities, charities, his own relatives and even his own defense attorney. Elie Wiesel called him a "God." His investors called him a "genius.."

Born in New York in 1938, Madoff was a Wall Street legend who had been in business for nearly 50 years. According to the story Madoff told others, in 1960, at age 22, he took $5000 earned from his summer job as a Long Island lifeguard and started his own investment firm.

His brother Peter joined him in 1970 in what had become a booming business with an impressive list of clients. Madoff's firm grew famous for its reliable annual returns of 10% or more. He served as president of the board of directors of the NASDAQ stock exchange, and he and his wife Ruth were popular socialites in New York and Florida , where they were members of the exclusive Palm Beach Country Club.

THE GOAT!

On 11 December 2008, FBI agents arrested Madoff at his Manhattan apartment, and the Securities and Exchange Commission said he was charged with "massive fraud" and running a "multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme."

Madoff reportedly admitted to investigators that he had lost $50 billion of investors' cash. Prosecutors say Madoff stole billions of dollars from more than 4000 victims. Investigators say Madoff's wife withdrew $15 million the day before his arrest.

Madoff pled guilty to 11 felony counts on 12 March 2009, and was jailed until a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 16th. He faces up to 150 years in prison.