Made Money With Madoff? Don’t Count On Keeping It.

So in other words these are all thieves in a manner of speaking, who stole from each other, and they didn't steal any of my stuff, just their own. Either way it really doesn't matter. By the time any of this ever gets around to being semi sorted out the only people who are gonna make anything will be the lawyers and maybe Fed X or UPS for all the paperwork back and forth over this nonsense. No one stole nothing. Their money vanished over-night like so many others. Except Bernie's was one big one. And it popped. The whole thing worked when we were a growing, buying consuming society, but one little hiccup and the whole con came crashing down. It was an illusion to start with, it shattered into a zillion little illusion pieces, it don't matter how you put it back together it never was to begin with.

So in other words these are all thieves in a manner of speaking, who stole from each other, and they didn't steal any of my stuff, just their own. Either way it really doesn't matter. By the time any of this ever gets around to being semi sorted out the only people who are gonna make anything will be the lawyers and maybe Fed X or UPS for all the paperwork back and forth over this nonsense. No one stole nothing. Their money vanished over-night like so many others. Except Bernie's was one big one. And it popped. The whole thing worked when we were a growing, buying consuming society, but one little hiccup and the whole con came crashing down. It was an illusion to start with, it shattered into a zillion little illusion pieces, it don't matter how you put it back together now it never was to begin with.

There is no such thing as a "unsuspecting investor." There are only investors who make bad investments or good investments. Any "profit" any "investor" received from Madoff was simply someone else's money. It must be surrendered. Their principal must also be surrendered in order to establish an equitable baseline. Only then can the court make equitable rulings. It amazes me so many of you don't understand this. All this argumentum ad misericordiam has no force; we all have miseries we can resort to.

There should be a Law Of Responsibility,
Whatever action a person takes in life they have to accept full responsibility for it.
If they invest and loose, it is their loss and they have no one to blame. Get over it.
I would also like to ask what is an " unsuspecting investor " as stated in anther comment ?
Renember, for a Ponzi to work it needs family and friends showing each other how easy it is
to get something for nothing. REAL investors INVESTIGATE

who said it is stealing.madoff benifitted his charities much more times than the social security which treats the immigrants as slaves ,who are just paying to remain in usa.

A Ponzi scheme is neither gambling nor investing.... it's stealing. It is intentional fraud.

The people that gave money to Madoff knew that accounting was not transparent and that the dealings appeared shady. Good for the Gov't to take the money back. Maybe future folks will insure that they do their homework and only invest in legitimate business.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. If you find a free lunch.... then be prepared to pay later, because you will.

Mardoff did not steal the money.He lost the money on bad investments.If he says he stole it, the investors can get the money back from the government financal fraud protection scheme.

Investing in a Ponzi is gambling, not investing. Does Vegas return the monies lost by people?
Don't gamble what you are not able to afford to loose.
Do the loosers ask for a government bailout ?
A fool and his money , soon part.
Madoff was just their first.
People lost money, got a financial education and now should accept what they cannot change.
Get on with life.

A Ponzi is a con. The saying is correct. You can't con an honest man. Any real investor checks out his investment first.
If he or she is too lazy to do this properly how can they complain about loss. Madoff and all other cons can only survive
on people's being lazy and greedy. You can be sure the first to make money from Madoff boasted to their friends, who
then invested with Madoff. These boasters should have to compensate their friends losses not the public.

MY LEAST FAVORITE THINGS (WALL STREET VERSION)

(My Favorite Things, Revised by WilliamBanzai7)

Bankers and brokers, quants, accountants and lawyers;
Greek lettered formulas and OTC screens;
Toxic assets repackaged and tied up with Ponziesque strings;
These are a few of my least favorite things.

Red power ties, pinstripes and suspenders;
Opening bells, black boxes and fees by the oodles;
Hedge funds that fly like black swans with the moon on their wings;
These are a few of my least favorite things.

Madoff and Blankfein, Fuld, Cayne, Mack, Thain n Pandit all them Wall Street smart a$$es;
Those flakes are one and the same don't let them manage your assets;
Hubristic CEOS who melt net worth into huge bonus schemes;
These are a few of my least favorite things.

When the dog bites,
When the bee stings,
When I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember my least favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

This idea is pretty unfair to unsuspecting investors. I believe the SEC should be responsible rather than the people that invested with that crook. I have several friends that lost a hunk of their money with him. If they were forced to "pay back" the fund they would be totally broke and a lot of good that does.
Everything is so screwed up right now. We are hopeful and looking forward to a new year.