Making money on the Madoff name: Auctions not what the ads lead you to believe

Advertisements trumpeting "Bernie Madoff Auction" ahead of events being held at hotels around the country appear to have little or no connection to the criminal or his victims, a WalletPop investigation found.

Instead, customers who show up are likely to find a garden-variety auction of items from estates and liquidations and, perhaps, the possibility that a victim of Madoff might sell something, too.

Consumers who were lured to the auctions recently in two Florida cities -- West Palm Beach and Naples -- noted the advertisements created an expectation for something that wasn't there.