Madoff was an evil master of financial illusion
By Larry Edelman Globe Columnist,Updated April 14, 2021, 2 hours ago
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âAssume fraud first until genius is proven.â
Thatâs what Harry Markopolos, the Boston accounting sleuth who rang alarm bells about Bernie Madoff long before the New York investorâs Ponzi scheme collapsed in 2008, wrote when he signed a copy of his book about the scandal for his friend Michael Trotsky.
It was 2010, and Trotsky, who had recently taken over as head of the stateâs giant public employee pension fund, understood Markopolosâs adage all too well: When a money managerâs acumen seems to good too be true â Madoff claimed improbably consistent investment returns year after year after year â itâs probably a scam.