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Deep Dive: Chasing Madoff (2010)

Film Lens

Chasing Madoff
Chasing Madoff is a documentary that details Harry Markopolos' ten-year effort to expose Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The film is based on Markopolos' book and chronicles the extensive evidence he and his associates gathered, which was largely ignored by the SEC despite multiple meetings. The documentary illustrates the frustration and challenges faced by Markopolos as he attempted to bring attention to a fraud that ultimately scammed investors out of an estimated $18 billion, or $65 billion including fake returns. The film premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam on November 19, 2010, and later in North America on August 26, 2011. It features interviews with Markopolos and his team, including Frank Casey and Neil Chelo, providing insight into their investigative work and the systemic failures that allowed Madoff's scheme to persist for so long.

Why Watch

  • Meet Harry Markopolos and his team of whistleblowers.
  • Find out how Madoff's fraud went unnoticed for years.
  • See the SEC's response to Markopolos' evidence.

Did You Know

Harry Markopolos spent ten years trying to expose Madoff's scheme.
The Ponzi scheme scammed an estimated $18 billion from investors.
Chasing Madoff has a 46% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Perfect For

Financial fraud investigationsWhistleblower storiesSEC accountability