Wall Street Suicide (ponzicide)
Liliane Bettencourt, the worldâs wealthiest woman and heiress to the L’Oreal empire, entrusted part of her $22.9 billion fortune to Bernard Madoff through the fund manager found dead in New York yesterday. Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, the co-founder and chief executive of Access International, was found dead in his office in New York yesterday. It appears that he committed suicide as a result of the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme.Â
It’s one thing to cheat people out of money, but it’s a whole different paradigm when a person commits suicide as a result of the thefts, schemes, and losses. I’m not sure how Madoff lives with himself, or anyone else for that matter, that causes such grief in the world.
The 65-year-old Villehuchet had lost as much as $1.4 billion invested with Madoff. Villehuchet “could not cope with the pressure following the outbreak of the scandal,” some of his relatives confirmed. His death in many ways is a farewell from someone who had done nothing wrong. He was discovered by paramedics in the Manhattan offices of Access International and pronounced dead.
Madoff is accused of masterminding and running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme and the former Nasdaq chief is currently on house arrest. Anyone else committing such fraud would be in jail. It’s an interesting society that we have built in America which says on the one hand everyone is treated equally before the law, but the realities say something entirely different.
Mr. Villehuchet is probably just the first of many who will take the suicidal way out. He was said to be “devastated” when news of the $50 billion Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Mr. Madoff - the biggest corporate fraud in history - emerged, and he feared clients would turn against him in the courts. He had been trying for a week to recover at least $1.5 billion in European funds that Access International had invested through Mr/ Madoff’s business. I’m afraid not many, if any other than the lawyers will get any compensation.
Gentlemen. Start your lawsuits!
Ernie Fitzpatrick
http://www.articlesbase.com/economics-articles/wall-street-suicide-ponzicide-696435.html