Bernie Madoff: Serial Criminal Offenders

Serial criminal offenders have always fascinated psychologists. A serial criminal is a person who commits criminal acts that are repetitive in nature. One such criminal is Bernie Madoff, a former stockbroker, and financial consultant, who was a serial fraudster in the late nineties and early 2000s. Bernie Madoff is still alive and is currently serving his jail term at the Butner Federal Correctional Institution. We will review his criminal charges, the biological, developmental and environmental factors if they exist, that relate to his behavior, theories that could explain his actions and many more psychological factors that may have contributed to his criminal life. Then later, I will give my reaction regarding his court verdict and …show more content…
There were no signs of mental retardation. He had an above average intelligence, clearly seen by how he convinced his victims to invest with him and could keep his business under cover. He had a normal childhood. He may have had environmental influences although these are not documented. Probably his stunt with financial difficulties as a child made him street wise. No developmental issues are seen in his life. He grew up under the loving care of both his parents, he had friends, had a girlfriend whom he later married, and had won the interest of his swim coach who was willing to give him a part-time employment. There are no histories of his visits with any psychologists or psychiatrists or any sociopathic tendencies. He was remorseful of his crimes and felt guilty for everything he committed saying it was all a …show more content…
First, he began his career as a small-time broker from his personal savings. He probably saw a niche in the investment and brokering sector. He learned the ways of the trade, and soon he was able to get several interested parties to invest with him. He probably overvalued his plans and gave extra hope in plans that were later rebuffed (Henriques, Ward &Tantor Media, 2011). When his first clients asked for their profits, he was bound to look for other clients to invest with him, so he does not suffer from forfeiture. With time the process only grew deeper and deeper, and he had to get more and more investors to save himself. Before he knew it, the scheme had already popped and was way out of control. That is why he was quick in admitting his guilt. I think no man is entirely good or bad. It is never black or white, just gray. A good person may make a gross mistake and be unable to admit it and later find ways to save himself or cover his tracks as a way of