ABSTRACT
After Bernie Madoff’s massive financial crimes came to light, two questions loomed large for his victims and the general public: Did his sons know? And if not, how was it possible they did not? Mark and Andrew Madoff were close with their father, worked in various, often senior capacities at the Madoff firm over many years, and regularly engaged in personal and lucrative financial transactions with him and the Madoff firm. Yet extensive investigation to date has failed to provide any real evidence that the sons had any knowledge of their father’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme before the infamous night of December 10, 2008 when they turned him into authorities. This chapter explores possible prior knowledge by the sons by looking at not only the family dynamics, but also any individual defense operations likely present that possibly resulted in their intentional unknowing, or selective knowing. The roles of selective inattention and avoidance of shame are also examined.
