Bernard Madoff was born in Queens, New York, to an honest Jewish family. He graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. In 1960, Madoff opened Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, a stock trading company founded with $5,000 that Bernie earned working as a sprinkler installer and lifeguard. He grew his business with the help of his father-in-law, Saul Alpern, to at one point become the largest market maker on NASDAQ. Madoff Securities began making markets through the National Quotation Bureau's Pink Sheets; but in order to gain an advantage over competing firms, it began using innovative computer software that projected quotes in seconds rather than minutes. This system is now commonly referred to as NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) (Weiner 188-192). Madoff served as chairman of the board of directors of the NASDAQ stock exchange until his arrest on December 11, 2008. On March 12, 2009, Madoff admitted that his company was an elaborate Ponzi scheme and in June, "was convicted of 11 counts totaling more than 150 years in prison and $7.2 billion in restitution” (Wasik). The Bernie Madoff scandal is considered the largest accounting fraud in American history. This operation is estimated to have lasted nearly two decades and resulted in the theft of approximately $64.8 billion. The scandal consisted of Madoff taking money from investors who thought the money was invested in blue-chip stocks; and later repaying the original investors with money provided by the new investors rather than profiting from the initial investment. The excess money was then pocketed by Madoff, which he used to purchase excessive luxuries such as numerous multi-million dollar homes, luxury cars...... middle of paper... ...exact figures because Madoff refuses to talk about money. scheme. Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, recommends that Madoff's sentence be reduced to 12 years because of his cooperation and confession; but Judge Chin said he had not received any mitigating letters from friends or family members testifying to Madoff's good deeds. New York Post. (2008): no. Web page. March 15, 2014. Lattman, Peter and Ben Protess. “In his guilty plea, Peter Madoff says he was unaware of the fraud.” June 29, 2012: b. page. Internet. March 16, 2014. Wasik, John. “In Madoff's Mind: When Did the Scam Really Start?” » (2012): 1.Web. .Weiner, Eric J. "What Goes Up: The Uncensored Story of Modern Wall Street Told by the Bankers, Brokers, CEOs, and Scoundrels Who Made It Happen." (2005): 188-192. Internet.