Part 2/11:
Madoff's fraudulent operation was deceptively simple yet devastating: he used money from new investors to pay returns to older ones. By 2008, during the financial crisis, the magnitude of his scheme was exposed, resulting in financial ruin for thousands and triggering tremors across the entire financial sector. He claimed to have managed a "split-strike conversion strategy," supposedly generating consistent annual returns of around 10 percent regardless of market performance. This reliability made him a magnet for investors, who were led to believe they were participating in a stable investment vehicle.