“IF It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is”!

“Greed is good”, as Gordon Gekko exclaimed in the 1987 movie “Wall Street”. It looks like quite a few people agreed with that statement as the revelations about the “Ponzi” scheme run by Bernard Madoff had been unfolding a few years ago, and it caught quite a few South Floridians and others in it’s web of deceit.

A “Ponzi” scheme is a swindle in which a quick return on an initial investment is paid out of funds from new investors, which lures the victim or victims into bigger risks, and eventually results in a financial bust and the loss of most all the money invested. Eventually, the scheme runs out of new investors and the scheme goes bust.

As despicable as Bernard Madoff was in his operation of his financial “Ponzi” scheme, the people who got caught up in his web of deceit, couldn’t control the greed “ gene”, that is residing in all of us, and it came about to bite these people in the butt, big time.

The “victims” of this scam were not illiterate school dropouts, who were taken advantage of by a smooth talking charlatan (which he was), but were some of the wealthiest “machers” here and around the country, and in foreign countries as well. Fred Wilpon, owner of the N.Y. Mets, Steven Spielberg, famed Hollywood producer, Mort Zuckerman, owner of the N.Y. Daily News and U.S. News and World report, and the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), were some of the famous people taken for a ride on the Madoff scam machine. It is estimated that up to $50 billion had been lost by these and other investors. The final total will probably never be known. Bernie Madoff will be spending the rest of his life in prison for his crime.

Some people were looking for that proverbial, “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow, and believed that Bernie Madoff was some sort of a “financial genius” who could produce financial profits more than double the prevailing rate of what banks and other financial institutions were giving their depositors and clients. Greed blinded these people when they should have known that this guy was just another “snake oil” salesman selling a bogus product.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There is enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for even one person’s greed”. Getting annual returns of between 12% and 15% was not normal in the realm of today’s business and financial investing – it should have raised a “red flag” if anyone wanted to know how this “ financial guru” knew something nobody else knew? In other words, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”, should have been the catchword, heeded by all the dupes who entrusted this guy with their life savings and their philanthropic trusts.

I don’t wish hardships on anyone, as “ there, but for the grace of God, go I”, but when the greed “ gene” takes over one's mind, it’s very difficult to act rationally when the dollar signs cover your eyes and warp your good judgment. This won’t be the last time somebody will attempt to “screw” his friends and friends of friends in order to live the “good life” on the backs of his naïve victims, but it should be a wake up call, to all investors, to be vigilant in the future for the enticing deals that sounds “too good to be true”, because as we’ve seen in this case, “they probably are”.

Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann

The "Anti-Hate" Group That Is a Hate Group!


The Southern Poverty Law Center bills itself as an “anti-hate” group. But in reality, this group’s sweet-sounding name disguises a nefarious purpose that threatens free thought and speech. In this week’s video, American journalist and researcher Karl Zinsmeister from PragerU explains. He reveals how the masterminds behind the Southern Poverty Law Center, contrary to their stated goal of reducing hate, are actually fueling it.
Did you know PragerU is a 501(c)3 non-profit?