As part of his investigation into Bernard Madoff’s Byzantine Ponzi scheme, court-appointed trustee Irving Picard recently released selected American Express bills that were associated with the confessed con man’s corporate credit card. What can we learn from these bills? Well, in addition to what seems to be strong evidence that the business was being used as a piggy bank by the Madoff clan and their associates, these bills also provide us with a window into the life of a very wealthy American family.
Let’s take a look at one American Express bill in detail, the charges that were accrued during the month-long period that ended on January 23, 2008. That billing period includes the end-of-year holidays, of course, when it’s not uncommon for all Americans to spend just a little too excessively. The Madoffs went quite a bit overboard, however, particularly given that this was a corporate card whose use really should have been restricted to outings to Staples to buy refills for the Post-It Note dispensers, spending a total of $100,121.99 during that month. Bernie’s wife Ruth led the way with charges of $29,887.94, son Mark was close behind with charges of $26,776.96, and his brother Andrew finished in third place with charges of $8,273.39. Remarkably, Bernie spent only $470 during that period, most of that due to his membership renewal fee.
What can we learn about this now fallen American family from their charges? First of all, they spent a lot of time on airplanes, but they must have had some bad experiences in the past because they all required luggage insurance when they traveled, Mark and Andrew to Jackson Hole during this billing period, Shana, a “compliance officer” at the firm, to Cancun, and Bernie and Ruth to Palm Beach. Commendably, the senior Madoffs supported the local economy by patronizing establishments such as the Frédéric Fekkai salon, the Muvico Parisian cinemas at CityPlace (I can just see Bernie and Ruth having a romantic date to view 27 Dresses over the holidays), and Publix. I find it hard to believe that Ruth did her own grocery shopping, but she did seem to be able to find the time to make some purchases at Giorgio Armani and Jil Sander in Paris during this period. The senior Madoffs also subscribed to Netflix, a smart move because Ruth is going to be spending many lonely nights at home now that Bernie resides at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan.
Since this was a corporate American Express card, how about the activity of employees who were unrelated to the Madoffs? The purchasing habits of Ms. JoAnn Crupi are particularly remarkable. In the course of this single billing cycle, Ms. Crupi accrued charges at Shop-Rite Wines, Garden State Wines, the Secaucus Wine Outlet, and the Springfield Wine Library. This lady may like her wine, but she’s not a spendthrift, having charged a meal at the Westfield Diner (this is quite a contrast to a meal at the ultra high-end restaurant Per Se on which Andrew spent $1,126,41, which included a 5.6% tip of $60) and shopped at Costco (perhaps for wine) and 1-800-FLOWERS before jetting off for a holiday in Las Vegas. And, yes, Ms. Crupi requested luggage insurance.
If you would like to take a look at the Madoffs’ American Express bill yourself, please click here.
Oliver Booth
The American Express card: Don't leave home without it!
