Madoff Brothers: Employment Wanted

Dec. 16, 2009 — -- It's tough enough to get a job in this economy, but what happens when Madoff is part of your name?

That's the challenge facing Mark and Andrew Madoff, the sons of the man convicted of perpetrating the largest Ponzi scam in history, Bernard Madoff. Along with the dozens of other employees at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, the Madoff brothers lost their jobs last year as their father's pyramid scheme and his business unraveled.

These days, Mark Madoff, 45, is wondering whether he can find another job in finance. Andrew Madoff, 43, has considered starting a disaster recovery firm, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed sources.

Ron Geffner, a former Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement attorney and a partner at the law firm Sadis & Goldberg, doesn't expect the brothers will have much luck.

"They're social pariahs," he said. "… I don't see anyone hiring them in securities industry, unless it's a long-time family friend, and the Madoffs are short on family friends."

ABCNews.com asked readers whether they would consider hiring the Madoffs -- and not surprisingly, most who responded said no. But there were also others who said that they, in fact, wouldn't mind adding the brothers to their payrolls. (For ABCNews.com readers' responses, see the next page.)

Mark and Andrew Madoff, who were co-directors of trading at their father's firm, were the ones who turned Bernard Madoff in after he confessed the scheme to them last year. But being whistleblowers hasn't shielded them from public criticism and legal battles.

In October, Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to liquidate Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and recover money for Madoff's victims, filed a $199 million lawsuit against the brothers and two other Madoff relatives who also worked at the firm. In a written statement released at the time the claim was filed, Picard alleged that the Madoff family members were "completely derelict" in their duties at the firm and, as a result, "either failed to detect or failed to stop the fraud, thereby enabling and facilitating the Ponzi scheme."

Picard's claim said that both brothers were registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the independent regulator for U.S. securities firms.

-- Mike, Greenville, S.C.

"I would definitely hire both Madoff brothers. True story. Their father is the biggest theif in history. However, I am willing to hire them because they grew up in a business environment mostly. Moreover, I would never judge someone because of his father or where he came from. Plus, they know how to find a way to "walk around things," if you know what I mean. "
-- Nosayr Yassin, Arraba, Israel

"Why don't they change their names for a start ? The sins of the father should not be visited upon the sons."
-- Janice Byrne, Brighton, U.K.-- Anonymous, New York, N.Y.

"I believe they made a name and enjoyed the money their father made all of these years and should have blown the whistle on him many years back but did not.

"As a human being they are entitled to make a living in spite of all that if they can prove their talent."
-- Harry Pierre, Atlanta, Ga.

"The story goes like this: You are what your parents make you. … These men knew what was going on with there father I'm sorry to say. I hope them well but they have to prove themselves to the American people and that is going to be really hard with what happened with their father."
-- Doug van Cleave, Temperance, Mich.

"I am an unemployed paralegal student. Prior to that, I was a weekly newspaper editor and an assistant to a high tech corporate security director and I have law enforcement training myself.

"I feel sorry for the Madoff Brothers but I would never hire them. At least not in any position where they would handle cash and investments directly.

"I will have to question their motives for turning their Dad in. One worked there for 20 years and he had no idea what was going on? The other one should have known as well. Common sense should have alerted them."
-- Helene R Schmidt, Austin,Texas

"I have always believed that a person's family background does not matter when it comes to the individual. However, in the case of the Madoff Brothers an exception is in order. They worked with their father in a major criminal project, that is something as an employer I could never overlook."
-- Elizabeth Black, Gastonia, N.C.

With reports by ABC News' Kate McCarthy.