ABSTRACT
The adjustment phase for Bernard Madoff's victims was considerably longer, in which the normal appeared to be abnormal, the unusual, usual. The insularity of too many Madoff victims made it difficult for them to react appropriately to their diminished economic circumstances; to accept their losses, as difficult as that was. Some Madoff victims admitted to complacency or greed. Others admitted feeling a sense of entitlement. Offering consistent positive returns, Madoff capitalized on the psychological phenomenon and offered a winning scheme. Most of Madoff's investors tried to portray themselves as nothing more than trusting victims who had been betrayed, but few were quite as innocent as the portrait they painted of themselves. There are a number of parallels in what was learned about Madoff's clients from this research and what was reported in a 1994 study of those who lost money when a loan company collapsed as a result of criminal activity.
