his documentary investigates the outrageously audacious scam perpetrated by Bernard Madoff, the New York financier who for more than a decade bilked investors out of tens of billions of dollars in an elaborate Ponzi scheme. In addition to examining how Madoff made the con work for so long on such a scale without detection, the program also analyzes other notorious Ponzi schemes and what makes them so attractive to unwitting investors.

The 2008 collapse of the American economy wreaked havoc on the American people. While the stock market imploded before them, some investors were devastated by a far more trusted source. See the personal chaos brought onto individual investors by Bernie Madoff, a popular and trusted investor from middle-class Queens, New York - and alleged Ponzi schemer - as experts dissect his $65 billion scam, from its humble beginnings to its stunning downfall, in Ripped Off: Madoff And The Scamming Of America. With the help of expert commentary and firsthand accounts from Madoff's victims, History compares and contrasts this most recent fraud with other Ponzi schemes throughout history, while exploring the economic and historical climates in which they appeared.

Then, as the United States attempts to rebound from economic meltdown, comparisons to the Great Depression are unavoidable. Is history repeating itself? Crash: The Next Depression ooks at the current financial crisis in the U.S. and compares and contrasts it with what led up to the Great Depression, the 1929 stock market crash, its immediate aftermath and the efforts that helped the country break free from the Depression. Will today's crash turn into tomorrow's depression? And is anyone safe from the economic pitfalls of such a vulnerable time?