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Former NASDQ chairman, Bernie Madoff, will be spending the next 150 years in prison. Since he\u2019s 71 right now, that means he\u2019ll be a free man once again at age 221. Nobody\u2019s feeling too sorry for The Ponzi King right now though. Even his sons refuse to talk to him. The scope and breadth of Madoff\u2019s investment fraud is staggering.

To those who have been following Jason Hartman for any length of time, this really should come as no surprise. Any time you give up direct control of your investments, this could be the result.

We say this often but it bears repeating. When you invest on Wall Street, expect to find one day that:

1. You\u2019re investing with a crook.
2. You\u2019re investing with an idiot.
3. You\u2019re paying huge management fees.

You might be extraordinarily unlucky and hit the mother lode \u2013 an idiotic crook who charges huge management fees. And even though you might think we\u2019re beating this particular drum unnecessarily stridently, think of it like this. It\u2019s your financial life at stake here. It\u2019s your retirement and the economic health of your family for generations to come.

Bernie\u2019s not the first or last schemer to tap into the ignorance of investors. Need a sure fire way to avoid losing everything to scandals like this? Don\u2019t play the same game these pour souls were playing. Don\u2019t turn your nest egg over to pie-in-the-sky promises. Stay in control of your investments. Always know what\u2019s going on with them and, while we strongly suggest having a trusted financial advisor, don\u2019t give them the reins to the stagecoach!