As End Neared, Madoff Shook Down Friends

As his fraudulent fund was sinking, a desperate Bernard Madoff demanded friends and investors pour in more cash, the New York Post reports. Carl Shapiro, the first person to invest with Madoff, got a call, as did his son-in-law, and close Madoff friend Robert Jaffe. Shapiro is reportedly among the biggest losers in the scandal, having invested some $545 million.

Jaffe was a partner of Madoff’s, sometimes dubbed “the Recruiter” because he ran a firm whose purpose was to hawk Madoff’s wares. Nor were these allies the only ones Madoff shook down; he was simultaneously concocting new higher-leverage, higher-return funds. Investors say they were told they’d be shut out of future Madoff products if they didn’t buy in, or withdrew existing investments. (More Bernard Madoff stories.)