Trying to question Madoff

Erin Arvedlund, a former Barron’s reporter, writes Wednesday for Conde Nast Portfolio about her attempts back in 2001 to question hedge fund operator Bernard Madoff, now accused of swindling $50 billion from investors.

Arvedlund writes, “Every reporter encounters a big story that feels risky — that carries the risk of offending someone important, someone big, someone savvy, someone smarter than you, or just someone who makes claims that can’t be proved or disproved. But feelings aren’t facts.

“So I went with the facts: Nobody, but nobody, on Wall Street traded options the way Madoff did and made the money that he made. Years later, a hedge fund manager whom I had known since the late 1990s said simply: ‘Nobody traded options that successfully. That should have been a big red flag.’

“I worked for months compiling details about Madoff. I easily questioned more than 100 people as to whether they knew Madoff or knew anyone who had ever invested with him. Most either had heard of Madoff or knew of his firm. I could count on one hand the number of people who had actually met the man.

“I was beginning to think I’d never be one of the lucky few, even after finishing my profile of him. Â

“Suddenly, though, Madoff was made available to me just as the story was about to be printed. Over a scratchy international telephone line, Madoff told me he was traveling on a boat in Switzerland. ‘I can’t really go into the details,’ he said of his strategy. He wasn’t angry or upset. He sounded more than friendly. He just didn’t tell me anything of note.”

Read more here.