How true crime filmmaker Joe Berlinger came to view Bernie Madoff as a ‘financial serial killer’ in Netflix doc

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Bankman-Fried, The New York Times noted, “was once described as a modern-day John Pierpont Morgan, and became a darling of big investors in Silicon Valley.” Madoff, meanwhile, had earned investors’ trust and was once “considered so innovative and successful that wealthy individuals and blue-chip firms sought his investment services and advice,” ABC News wrote at the time of his downfall. And I think the idea behind was, ‘Let’s broaden our palette on crime.’” A self-described “stock market geek”, Berlinger was itching to produce a show that would not only delve into the human side of things, but also into the technical aspects of Madoff’s fraud. open image in gallery Joe Berlinger attends the Truth Seekers Summit hosted by Variety and Rolling Stone at Second Floor on 25 August 2022 in New York City To Berlinger, a “financial serial killer” like Madoff shares a characteristic with the serial killers whose gruesome crimes Berlinger has documented on the screen: “They clearly lack empathy.” “Nobody who has empathy can do what Bundy, Gacy, or Dahmer did, or what Madoff did,” Berlinger says. “It was very important to tell those victims’ stories, and to remind people that these financial white-collar crimes do have victims where lives were absolutely destroyed,” Berlinger says.