Go behind-the-scenes with nationally syndicated radio host Jim Campbell in a discussion about the late investment advisor Bernie Madoff’s execution of the largest financial fraud of all time. The discussion will take place on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Event Hall of the Fairfield University Dolan School of Business. 

Titled “From Profits to Ponzi: Inside Madoff’s $67 Billion Scam,” Campbell will be in conversation with Philip Eliasoph, PhD, professor of art history and visual culture in Fairfield’s College of Arts and Sciences, and Debra Strauss, JD, professor of business law in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business. During their discussion, Campbell will share his insights on how Bernie Madoff, the market maker, investment advisor, and former chairman of NASDAQ, orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in world history, which was uncovered during the depths of the 2008 financial crisis. 

Featured in the 2023 Netflix series Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, Campbell is the author of the bestselling book Madoff Talks: Uncovering the Untold Story Behind the Most Notorious Ponzi Scheme in History, an in-depth account of the spectacular rise and fall of Madoff, including exclusive, never-before-told details. The book is the product of hundreds of jailhouse emails and letters between Campbell and Madoff, as well as interviews with Madoff’s widow, Ruth, and includes his recommendations for avoiding another Madoff-like disaster. 

Campbell is also the host of the nationally syndicated radio show Business Talk with Jim Campbell. He is known for his hard-hitting interviews of leading figures from the worlds of business, politics, and sports. Known for "firsts," Campbell snagged the first extensive interview with former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer after his resignation, the first interview with former Tyco CEO Denis Kozlowski after his release from prison, and the first broadcast interview with former stock analyst Roomy Kahn, a government informant in one of the biggest insider trading busts in American history.

Campbell's extensive corporate, consulting, and entrepreneurial business background includes roles at KPMG Consulting, Dean Witter Financial Services (now Morgan Stanley), and IBM. He is founder and president at JC Ventures, Inc., a management consulting business. Campbell is also the parent of a 2011 Fairfield University alumna.

Professor Debra Strauss, JD, brings to this event her expertise on securities law, including her experiences in private practice in a prominent New York law firm in commercial litigation. She also served as a law clerk for the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where she worked on several federal prosecutions for RICO (racketeering, wire fraud/mail fraud), insider trading, and securities fraud. She received her juris doctorate from Yale Law School and has been a professor of business law at Fairfield University for more than twenty years.

Presented by the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, Campbell’s lecture, “From Profits to Ponzi: Inside Madoff’s $67 Billion Scam,” is part of the Open VISIONS Forum: Espresso series led by Philip Eliasoph, PhD, a Fairfield University professor of art history and visual culture in the College of Arts and Sciences. The series is designed to offer access to experts and panelists on a range of artistic, political, and cultural topics. 

The event is generously sponsored by Cohen and Wolf. Tickets are now on sale on quickcenter.com for $30, or $10 for Quick Members.

For more information, contact the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010, Monday through Friday, from 12 to 5 p.m.