It was just taken public in a blind pool offering that allows companies, in effect, to sell stock without making the usual disclosures about their business operations.

FORBES: Magazine Article

He was operating a blind pool, in which investors had no real idea what they owned or how it was performing, relying on Mr. Madoff who reported metronomic returns, brooked no nosiness into his methods, and seemed always willing to pay off investors who wanted to withdraw their money.

WSJ: Put Madoff In Charge of Social Security

Promoters, meanwhile, were pumping over-the-counter "blind-pool" stock offerings.

FORBES: Fraud per capita