On December 10, 2008, Bernie Madoff’s sons told authorities that their father had confessed to them that the asset management unit of his firm was a massive Ponzi scheme, and quoted him as describing it as “one big lie”. The following day, FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud resulting in robbing his clients of over $50 billion dollars. He is the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.

He employed his brother Peter; Peter’s daughter Shana Madoff, and his sons Andrew and Mark. Peter has since been sentenced to 10 years in prison and his son Mark committed suicide by hanging exactly two years after his father’s arrest. Andrew died of lymphoma on September 3, 2014, which he attributed to the stress and shame of his fathers colossal scam. His sons, who turned him in to authorities, never forgave their father for betraying their love and trust. Bernie Madoff is a Jew. He should have known better. How sad.

Don’t Lie

So far we have looked at the Biblical safeguards God gave the Hebrews to govern the capitalist principles he was teaching them…The Fear of the Lord, Sabbath, Tithing, Care for the Needy, Inheritances, Savings, and Honoring Parents. We find another safeguard right in the 9^th commandment (Exodus 20:16): “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” Or simply stated…don’t lie.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin states: ” … Integrity is God’s idea.  Propagated by obedient Christians and Jews throughout the world, it is arguably the number-one asset in the effort of businesses and governments to make their economies stronger.  That is why integrity is one of the most important assets of a system of ethical capitalism.  It has certainly helped to build America’s economic machine.”

Any businessperson who lies to their customers or vendors will ultimately be out of business. If they purchase something from a vendor and say they will pay for it and don’t, then the vendor will stop supplying them. If they tell their customer their product or service is of a certain quality and quantity and it is not, the customer will stop buying from them and tell their neighbors to stop as well.

Bernie Madoff found out the truth of Proverbs 13:11…Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, But the one who gathers by labor increases it. His compromised integrity cost him everything, even his family. We understand the Lord can bless us without compromise and grief. It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. Proverbs 10:22.

Man was created to think, be honest and not lie. He is not like the animals. He is not made to function on some kind of animal instinct of survival of the fittest…to lie, steal and cheat to get ahead of others. No…we are not competing against others, but helping to lift them by creating a job for them or a product that helps them do what they are called to do; and consequently we are lifted too.

As Rabbi Lappin says, “If there is no integrity, there is no ethical capitalism.”

Note: Bernie Madoff research is from Wikipedia.