Frank DiPascali Jr. Began Working For Bernie Madoff When He Was Just A Teen
Netflix just released its latest limited docuseries, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, and it's already generating a ton of buzz.
The four-episode documentary follows the story of disgraced Wall Street financier Bernie Madoff, who is responsible for what is considered to be one of the largest Ponzi schemes in modern memory. The scam resulted in losses of around $65 billion for the victims affected.
Some viewers may remember the events that took place following Madoff's arrest in 2008. But the new show has also brought up a lot of questions about his employees and how much they really knew about Madoff's actions.
Frank DiPascali Jr. was high in the chain of command at the investment firm that sat at the center of the scheme, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. He was also a major person of interest in the case, and was facing a hefty prison sentence for his role.
But who was Frank DiPascali, and how did he factor into Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme? Read on for all the details.
Who is Frank DiPascali Jr?
Frank DiPascali Jr. worked closely with Bernie Madoff and served as his chief financial officer. Eventually, he turned on his colleagues and opted to aid the government in their investigation, per The Washington Post. He was often referred to as Madoff's "right-hand man."
DiPascali was married to Joanne DiPascali, and they had four children together.
How was he involved in the Ponzi scheme?
DiPascali grew up next to Madoff's longtime secretary, Annette Bongiorno, in Queens, New York, per the New York Times. In 1975, when he was still a teenager, she introduced DiPascali to Madoff and he joined Madoff's firm, despite having little finance training.
During DiPascali's court testimony, he confessed to spending at least 20 years helping Madoff commit up to $65 billion in financial fraud. Specifically, The Washington Post reported that he assisted in $17.5 billion worth of financial fraud.
Together, they carried out the infamous Ponzi scheme by using old stock data to create fake trade records, which allowed them to send out fake account statements to the people they worked with, according to The New York Times.
“I knew it was criminal, and I did it anyway,” Mr. DiPascali told the court, per the New York Times.
He pleaded guilty to the scheme.
DiPascali ultimately pled guilty to 10 felony counts, including conspiracy, securities fraud, and tax evasion in 2009, per Forbes. His testimony was considered paramount to the prosecution process, as he opted to testify against his colleagues to earn leniency from his potential 125-year prison sentence, per The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, his colleagues argued that they believed they were working for a legitimate business. However, five were convicted of aiding in fraud and were sentenced to between two-and-a-half to 10 years in prison, per The Washington Post.
Where is Frank DiPascali Jr. now?
Four months before his sentencing for the Ponzi scheme, on May 7, 2015, DiPascali died of stage 4 lung cancer, which had been diagnosed two months prior, according to Forbes. He was 58 years old.
What was Frank DiPascali's net worth?
It's unclear how much DiPascali was worth. But considering how closely he worked with Madoff, it's likely he earned a hefty paycheck in his decades working for the financier.
For context, Madoff was reported to have a joint net worth of $823 million with his wife Ruth around 2008, according to court documents, per ABC.
The Monster of Wall Street is streaming now on Netflix.
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