In 1960, Bernard L. Madoff started a modest stock investment company named "Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities" in New York. Madoff's company made itself unique by using a new computer system to propagate quotes before the NASDAQ existed, and this innovation made his company successful. Until now, Bernie Madoff was the epitome of successful stock trading in the United States. However, Madoff quickly fell victim to the seduction that his reputation could bring him. Using his newfound financial success and glittering reputation, Madoff soon began engaging in Ponzi schemes and, ultimately, committing fraud by falsifying return statements. Today, Madoff is known as the greatest financial criminal in history after recovering $64.8 billion from his clients through fraud. It is unclear exactly when Madoff began his illegitimate practice. Madoff himself claims he began committing fraud in the early 1990s, but federal investigators believe it may have started as early as the 1970s. It has been suggested that much of Madoff's financial success predated his channel Ponzi scheme could have been obtained through an illegal practice called “front running”. Front running is when a broker offers a stock to its clients when it is in a position to make a jump in value. This increase in investors will cause the value to increase even more, so the broker also invests in the stock to reap the benefits. It is a type of market manipulation using inside information naturally provided to a stockbroker, which often makes it difficult to detect. Although this is a common suspicion, it has never been proven since the SEC investigated Madoff's company several times during its early years and never found evidence of fraud . Sometime between the 1970s and 2000s, Bernie Madof...... middle of paper ......enrath and Amit R. Paley. "'Just a Big Lie'" Washington Post. The Washington Post, December 13, 2008. Web. March 19, 2014. Bernstein, Elizabeth. “The Madoff Scandal's Profound Impact on Health and Science Funding.” The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, February 12, 2009. Web. March 19, 2014. Frank, Robert, Amir Efrati, Aaron Lucchetti and Chad Bray. "Madoff jailed after admitting epic scam." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, March 13, 2009. Web. March 19, 2014. Gendar, Alison. "Prosecutors say half of Bernie Madoff's investors lost nothing in Ponzi scheme." New York Daily News. NYDailyNews, September 22, 2009. Web. March 19, 2014. Moyer, Liz. “Could the SEC have stopped the Madoff scam in 1992?” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, December 23, 2008. Web. March 19, 2014. Zuckoff, Mitchell. “Charitable organizations: the basis of Madoff’s project? CNNMargent. Cable News Network, December 29, 2008. Web. March 19. 2014.