Hearing from the Forgotten Victims: A Content Analysis of the Consequences of Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme

Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme may be one of the most famous in history. The victims included over 15,000 parties. Roughly 130 elected to share their stories in court by filing victim impact statements. In the current study, we performed a content analysis that explored the consequences of victimizat...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Homer, Emily M. (Author) ; Jalain, Caroline I. (Author) ; Hoover, Kaitlyn B. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Victims & offenders
Year: 2023, Volume: 18, Issue: 7, Pages: 1335-1353
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
victim impact statements
financial crime victimization
Ponzi schemes
Bernard L. Madoff
Description
Summary:Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme may be one of the most famous in history. The victims included over 15,000 parties. Roughly 130 elected to share their stories in court by filing victim impact statements. In the current study, we performed a content analysis that explored the consequences of victimization as reported in Madoff’s victim impact statements. We found that the consequences of Ponzi scheme victimization included financial, mental or emotional, interpersonal, physical, life trajectory, and a change in trust in the government. The findings indicate that victims would be better served by having quicker responses from the government after victimization. They also benefit from being included in all phases of criminal proceedings.
ISSN:1556-4991
DOI:10.1080/15564886.2023.2214800