SUBJECT-11355.dossier · company · status: archived
Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities BS
subject of file

Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities

Wall Street market-maker; vehicle of the Madoff Ponzi scheme
Tracked because Primary corporate vehicle of the largest documented Ponzi scheme; banked at JPMorgan 1986–2008.
Editorial summary · AI-drafted from public records

Broker-dealer and investment-advisory firm founded by Bernie Madoff in 1960, headquartered at the Lipstick Building, 885 Third Avenue, NYC. Liquidated under SIPA after the 2008 collapse. The 17th-floor "investment-advisory" operation was the locus of the Ponzi scheme.

Facts on record34
Connections mapped26
Sources cited34
Evidence: 27P+19 7S
Network web → Timeline → Compare with… → Position Drift → Coverage tone → View on Graph → View Card → Export CSV JSON Dossier ← Entity Directory
Stated vs Revealed
No documented contradictions on file.
[PUBLIC COST ESTIMATE]
Documented financial relationships span 0 money flow chains, while 1 elected official holds documented connections.
0Money Chains
0Traced Hops
Connected Officials
Calculation Methodology

Contract values are summed from documented money flow chains where this entity appears as a source or destination node. Amounts are drawn from USASpending.gov, FEC filings, SEC EDGAR, or LD-2 lobbying registrations.

Donor contributions aggregate documented amounts from the donor_interests table, sourced from FEC individual and PAC contribution filings.

Connected officials are elected officials in our database with a mapped relationship (lobbying, board membership, campaign contribution, etc.) to this entity.

Annualised flow represents the total documented dollar amount traced through money flow hops involving this entity. Where hop-level amounts are unavailable, the chain-level documented total is used as a conservative upper bound.

All figures are drawn from public filings. Estimates are conservative — undisclosed transactions, dark money, and vanish-point hops are excluded from totals. This is a minimum documented floor, not a ceiling.

Connection Map
Oversight gaps detected (1) The Oversight Wall →
high · secondary · pattern gap
Repeated compliance-failure pattern at JPMorgan Chase
Key Connections
→ Securities and Exchange Commission government agency
regulator
BLMIS registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC on January 19, 1960. The SEC's OIG found the SEC received six substantive complaints about Madoff between 1992 and 2008 but failed to uncover the fraud.
← Bernie Madoff person
founder
Madoff founded BLMIS in 1960 and ran it as principal until the December 2008 collapse.
→ Peter Madoff person
employment
Peter Madoff served as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Managing Director of BLMIS from 1969 to December 2008 and created false compliance documents.
← Sandra Manzke person
introduced
Introduced Tremont Partners to Bernard L. Madoff in the 1980s, building the foundation of the Tremont/Rye BLMIS feeder cluster
← JPMorgan Chase company
banking_client
BLMIS's primary depository banking relationship — the conduit for victim funds for 22 years (1986–2008). DOJ described JPM as having ignored internal compliance warnings; resolved by 2014 deferred prosecution agreement and $2.6B in forfeiture and civil settlements.
← Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company company
feeder fund parent
Through its wholly owned subsidiary Tremont Group Holdings, MassMutual was the ultimate parent of one of the largest BLMIS feeder organizations at the time of the December 2008 collapse.
→ Mark Madoff person
founder
Mark Madoff ran the market-making and proprietary trading businesses (House 5) and was not charged with criminal wrongdoing related to the Ponzi scheme.
→ Andrew Madoff person
founder
Andrew Madoff ran the market-making and proprietary trading businesses (House 5) and was not charged with criminal wrongdoing related to the Ponzi scheme.
Facts (34)
Data Freshness
Ageing Last update: 160d ago · Avg age: 2359d
Confidence Tiers: Primary Source — cross-referenced government/corporate filings Pending Review — sourced but not independently verified AI Inference — analytical hypothesis from cross-referencing
✓ Verified Findings (34)
Independently re-checked: a second model read the source artifact and confirmed it supports the extracted claim.
✓ verified Pending Review Madoff transferred approximately $160 million of personal assets to MSIL in 2007; about $1 billion moved between the US and London entities in 2008.
Date: 2007-01-01 Added: 08 May 2026
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS was founded by Bernie Madoff in 1960 as a penny-stock brokerage with $5,000 earned from lifeguarding and sprinkler installation.
Date: 1960-06-15 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Bernie Madoff
✓ verified Partially Corroborated Customer account statements at the time of collapse showed approximately $65 billion in fictitious balances; actual cash invested (net of withdrawals) was approximately $20 billion in principal losses.
✓ verified Primary Source Madoff confessed to senior employees on December 10, 2008 that the investment advisory business was 'basically a giant Ponzi scheme' and that the firm was insolvent.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS registered as an investment adviser with the SEC only in September 2006, despite managing billions for decades.
Date: 2006-09-01 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Why the SEC Missed Madoff's Con
✓ verified Partially Corroborated BLMIS feeder funds included Fairfield Sentry ($7.5 billion), Tremont Group/Rye Investment Management ($3.1 billion), and Kingate Global Fund ($2.7 billion).
Date: 2008-12-15 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Bernie Madoff Scandal: Where Are They Now?
✓ verified Primary Source JPMorgan Chase (and predecessor Chemical Bank) was BLMIS's primary banker for over 22 years, from approximately 1986 through the firm's collapse.
✓ verified Primary Source Peter Madoff served as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Managing Director of BLMIS from 1969 to December 2008 and created false compliance documents.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS operated three business units: a market-making business, a proprietary trading business (both referred to as 'House 5' on floors 18–19), and the fraudulent investment advisory business ('House 17' on the 17th floor).
✓ verified Primary Source As of April 2026, SIPA Trustee Irving Picard has recovered approximately $15.378 billion and distributed over $14.799 billion to BLMIS customers with allowed claims.
✓ verified Primary Source FINRA examinations of the broker-dealer operation found no evidence of any trading on behalf of the investment advisory business and no customer statements generated by the broker-dealer.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS's auditor, David G. Friehling of Friehling & Horowitz, CPAs, falsely certified audit reports from 1991 through 2008 without conducting meaningful audits.
Date: 2009-03-18 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ RECORDS: SEC Charges Madoff Auditors With Fraud
✓ verified Primary Source The SEC's Office of Inspector General found that the SEC received six substantive complaints about Madoff between June 1992 and December 2008 but failed to uncover the fraud.
Date: 2009-09-04 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Inspector General's Madoff Report
✓ verified Primary Source In 2014, JPMorgan Chase entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, admitted to Bank Secrecy Act violations, and paid $1.7 billion to Madoff victims.
✓ verified Pending Review Frank DiPascali Jr., BLMIS's de facto CFO and director of options trading, oversaw the creation of millions of phony trading records.
Date: 2009-08-11 Added: 08 May 2026
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC on January 19, 1960.
✓ verified Primary Source Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts on March 12, 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
✓ verified Pending Review Mark and Andrew Madoff, Bernie's sons, ran the market-making and proprietary trading businesses (House 5) and were not charged with criminal wrongdoing related to the Ponzi scheme.
Date: 2011-12-22 Added: 08 May 2026
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS established a London affiliate, Madoff Securities International Ltd. (MSIL), in 1983/1988, which served as a proprietary trading unit for the Madoff family.
Date: 1983-01-01 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Head of Madoff UK arm 'had no idea'
✓ verified Primary Source FINRA examinations of BLMIS's broker-dealer operations found no evidence of trading on behalf of the investment advisory business.
✓ verified Primary Source JPMorgan Chase (and predecessor Chemical Bank) was BLMIS's primary banker for over 22 years, from 1986 until the firm's collapse.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS was placed into SIPA liquidation on December 15, 2008, with Irving H. Picard appointed as Trustee.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS operated two distinct units: a legitimate broker-dealer (market-making) business occupying the 18th and 19th floors, and a fraudulent investment advisory operation on the 17th floor.
Date: 2008-12-15 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish
✓ verified Primary Source The investment advisory business was a massive Ponzi scheme; Madoff confessed to employees that it was insolvent and estimated losses at $50 billion.
✓ verified Primary Source Bernie Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts on March 12, 2009, and was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
✓ verified Primary Source In 2014, JPMorgan Chase entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, admitting to Bank Secrecy Act violations and paying $1.7 billion to Madoff victims.
✓ verified Primary Source The SEC's Office of Inspector General found that the SEC received six substantive complaints about Madoff between 1992 and 2008 but failed to uncover the fraud.
✓ verified Partially Corroborated At the time of collapse, customer account statements showed approximately $65 billion in fictitious balances, while actual principal lost was around $20 billion.
✓ verified Primary Source Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS) was founded by Bernie Madoff in 1960 as a penny stock brokerage.
Date: 1960-06-15 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Bernie Madoff
✓ verified Primary Source The firm was headquartered at 885 Third Avenue in New York City, known as the Lipstick Building.
Date: 2008-12-15 Added: 08 May 2026 ↗ SOURCE: The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish
✓ verified Primary Source Placed into SIPA liquidation December 15, 2008; Irving H. Picard appointed Trustee.
✓ verified Partially Corroborated Customer account statements at the time of collapse showed approximately $65 billion in fictitious balances; total cash actually invested by victims (net of withdrawals) was approximately $20 billion in principal losses.
Date: 2008-12-11 Added: 20 Apr 2026 ↗ SOURCE: Madoff investment scandal — Wikipedia
✓ verified Partially Corroborated The investment-advisory arm of BLMIS, operating from the 17th floor of the Lipstick Building at 885 Third Avenue, was the locus of the Ponzi scheme; the legitimate market-making business operated from the 18th and 19th floors.
✓ verified Primary Source BLMIS maintained its primary banking relationship with JPMorgan Chase (and predecessor Chemical Bank) from approximately 1986 through the firm's collapse in December 2008 — a continuous 22-year banker relationship.
All Connections (26)
→ Frank DiPascali person
employed_by primary
DiPascali worked for Madoff at BLMIS for 33 years (1975–2008) and was his closest confidante in operating the Ponzi scheme.
→ Carl Shapiro person
early_backer secondary
Shapiro was among the earliest BLMIS investors (1960s seed era); family entities returned approximately $625M to the trustee in 2010.
→ Irving H. Picard person
liquidation_trustee primary since 2008-12-15
Picard appointed SIPA Trustee for BLMIS liquidation December 15, 2008; recovered or committed $14.7B+ for victims as of 2024.
→ Jeffry Picower person
investor, major_investor_net_winner primary
Picower was the single largest net-winner from the BLMIS scheme; estate forfeited $7.2 billion to trustee and U.S. government in December 2010.
feeder_fund secondary
FGG sponsored the Fairfield Sentry Fund and related vehicles which together held approximately $7.5 billion of customer money in BLMIS at the December 2008 collapse — the single largest feeder exposure.
→ Kingate Global Fund company
feeder_fund secondary
Kingate Global Fund (BVI), advised by FIM Advisers under Carlo Grosso and Federico Ceretti, with its sister Kingate Euro Fund routed roughly $1.7 billion of customer assets into BLMIS by the December 2008 collapse.
feeder_fund secondary
Optimal Strategic US Equity (Dublin), operated by Banco Santander's Geneva-based Optimal Investment Services, held approximately $2.3 billion of customer assets in BLMIS at the December 2008 collapse — the principal Spanish/Latin American conduit.
feeder_fund secondary
Tremont's Rye Select and Tremont feeder vehicles held approximately $3.3 billion of customer money in BLMIS at the December 2008 collapse — the second-largest single-organization feeder exposure.
investor, investment_management_relationship secondary
Tremont Capital Management was the operating manager of the Tremont/Rye family of funds, the second-largest BLMIS feeder organization — approximately $3.3B of customer money invested with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities at the December 2008 collapse.
investor, investment_management_relationship secondary
Rye Select Broad Market Portfolio Limited passed customer capital in full to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities under the unmodified BLMIS strategy.
investor, investment_management_relationship secondary
Rye Select Broad Market XL Portfolio Limited passed leveraged customer capital to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, magnifying BLMIS exposure for downstream investors.
→ Peter Madoff person
employment primary since 1969
Peter Madoff served as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Managing Director of BLMIS from 1969 to December 2008 and created false compliance documents.
→ Mark Madoff person
founder primary since 2008
Mark Madoff ran the market-making and proprietary trading businesses (House 5) and was not charged with criminal wrongdoing related to the Ponzi scheme.
→ Andrew Madoff person
founder primary since 2008
Andrew Madoff ran the market-making and proprietary trading businesses (House 5) and was not charged with criminal wrongdoing related to the Ponzi scheme.
→ Securities and Exchange Commission government agency
regulator primary since 1960
BLMIS registered as a broker-dealer with the SEC on January 19, 1960. The SEC's OIG found the SEC received six substantive complaints about Madoff between 1992 and 2008 but failed to uncover the fraud.
← Bernie Madoff person
founder, founder_principal primary since 1960-01-01
Madoff founded BLMIS in 1960 and ran it as principal until the December 2008 collapse.
← JPMorgan Chase company
banking_client primary since 1986-01-01
BLMIS's primary depository banking relationship — the conduit for victim funds for 22 years (1986–2008). DOJ described JPM as having ignored internal compliance warnings; resolved by 2014 deferred prosecution agreement and $2.6B in forfeiture and civil settlements.
← Bernie Sanders elected official
contextual proximity in database inferential since unknown
These entities appear in proximity within the known entities list, but the documented search results for 'Bernie Sanders' found no court records, lobbying disclosures, or campaign finance data connecting him to this entity.
← Roger Williams person
No Direct Connection inferential since N/A
No documented connection between Roger Williams and Bernie Madoff entities found in the provided facts.
feeder fund parent primary since 2001
Through its wholly owned subsidiary Tremont Group Holdings, MassMutual was the ultimate parent of one of the largest BLMIS feeder organizations at the time of the December 2008 collapse.
← Banco Santander company
feeder_fund_exposure primary since 2009
Optimal Strategic US Equity, run by Santander's Optimal unit, was a BLMIS feeder fund that exposed investors to Madoff's Ponzi scheme.
investee primary since 2008
Fairfield Sentry Limited was the single largest BLMIS feeder fund, with approximately $7.0 billion of customer money invested with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities at the December 2008 collapse.
feeder_fund_relationship primary since unknown
Kingate Management Limited is the investment-management vehicle for the Kingate Global Fund and Kingate Euro Fund, which were BLMIS feeders.
← Sandra Manzke person
introduced primary since 1980s
Introduced Tremont Partners to Bernard L. Madoff in the 1980s, building the foundation of the Tremont/Rye BLMIS feeder cluster
← Robert I. Schulman person
indirect connection via feeder fund loss primary since 2008
Named in the SDNY SIPA trustee actions over the Tremont/Rye Madoff feeder losses following the BLMIS collapse.
← Federico Ceretti person
affiliation secondary since unknown
Officer of the Kingate feeder fund structure that invested with Madoff's firm
Sources (34)
2012-02-14 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2012-02-14) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-02-22 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2011-02-22) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-12-27 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2011-12-27) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2026-05-10 UNVERIFIED SEARCH_ERROR: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities not found in opencorporate… claim_flag Processed 📜 Receipt
2026-05-10 UNVERIFIED SEARCH_ERROR: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities not found in usaspending claim_flag Processed 📜 Receipt
2026-05-10 UNVERIFIED SEARCH_ERROR: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities not found in sam_gov claim_flag Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-08-18 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2011-08-18) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-04-04 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2011-04-04) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-03-04 ↗ SEC EDGAR: filing — Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2011-03-04) sec_filing Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities — Lobbying disclosures (no res… government_disclosure Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities — Corporate registrations (no … government_disclosure Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities — Parliamentary records (no re… parliamentary_record Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities — Court records (no results) court_document Processed 📜 Receipt
2026 UNVERIFIED Research: Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities — USASpending contracts (no re… contract Processed 📜 Receipt
2009-01-16 ↗ Madoff's fund may not have made a single trade external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2012-06-29 ↗ SEC Charges Peter Madoff With Fraud and False Statements to Regulators external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2009-09-13 ↗ Inspector General's Madoff Report external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2014-01-07 ↗ Manhattan U.S. Attorney and FBI Announce Deferred Prosecution Agreement with JPM… external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2010-03-12 ↗ Bernie Madoff Scandal: Where Are They Now? external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-16 ↗ Why the SEC Missed Madoff's Con external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2011-01-01 ↗ Irving H. Picard v. Saul B. Katz et al — Trustee's Statement of Undisputed Mater… external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-17 ↗ Madoff's Money Flowed Freely in Washington external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-17 ↗ Head of Madoff UK arm 'had no idea' external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2009-03-18 ↗ SEC Charges Madoff Auditors With Fraud external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-11 ↗ Bernie Madoff external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2007-10-03 ↗ Filing Detail — Peter B. Madoff Form 4 (reporting for A.G. Edwards Inc.) external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2009-02-04 ↗ List of investors in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2021-05-01 ↗ SIPA TRUSTEE - Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC Liquidation external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2009-01-16 ↗ Madoff's fund may not have made a single trade external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-15 ↗ The 17th Floor, Where Wealth Went to Vanish external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-15 ↗ Liquidation Proceeding for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC Undertake… external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-11 ↗ Bernie Madoff external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2014-01-07 ↗ Manhattan U.S. Attorney And FBI Assistant Director-In-Charge Announce Filing Of … external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt
2008-12-19 ↗ Bernard L. Madoff and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (SEC Litigatio… external_handoff Processed 📜 Receipt