Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- A Web page dedicated to Bernard Madoff was taken down by Facebook Inc., operator of the world’s largest social-networking site, after some users posted comments complimenting and jeering his alleged $50 billion fraud.

Facebook judges whether the content of a page is inappropriate if it get complaints, said spokesman Larry Yu. Facebook, following inquiries by Bloomberg News, concluded that the pages may not have been authorized as required by Madoff or his representatives, Yu said yesterday.

Madoff, 70, was arrested Dec. 11 after confessing to two sons that his investment advisory business was a “giant Ponzi scheme” that cost clients $50 billion. Victims of the alleged fraud range from hedge fund Fairfield Greenwich Group to the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation.

One writer, identified as Samuel, applauded Madoff yesterday in French, for pulling off “the biggest hold-up of the century.” A writer called Pete thanked Madoff for “leading the end of Wall Street credibility.” The page, which described Madoff’s interests as “destroying wealth,” claimed 1,226 fans as of yesterday, up from 826 on Dec. 19.

Madoff detractors used profanities, and his admirers tended to superlatives.

‘Rot in Hell’

“Rot in hell,” a user identified as Daniel wrote on Dec. 16. “Jerk. I should have put all of my money into ‘humble pie’ futures,” said a writer called Rob.

“Way to go buddy!!” wrote a fan called Michael. “I have to admire his genius as well and his cold calculating greedy mind,” wrote Mark. “Taking advantage of people stupidity,” said Favila, adding “claro que si!!!,” Spanish for “of course.”

“Whatever u say, this man is genius,” Artur wrote Dec. 16. “King Madoff,” Fabrizio said a day later.

A commentator identified as Pelayo said: “Bernard show me the money!!” Mark said Madoff probably “will find some nice accommodating place in the south pacific to call home for the rest of his life. Good for him!”

Ira Sorkin, a lawyer for Madoff, declined to comment.

A Facebook page devoted to Shana Madoff Swanson, the investor’s niece, disappeared recently, Valleywag.com wrote Dec. 16. Yu declined to comment yesterday on who had taken that page down.

Compliance Lawyer

Swanson was a compliance lawyer at the Madoff firm. She is married to Eric Swanson, a former assistant director of compliance and examinations at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He left the SEC in August 2006 and is now general counsel of Bats Trading Inc., the third-largest U.S. equity exchange by trading volume.

Facebook of Palo Alto, California, had 140 million users in the past 30 days, according to its Web site. Founded in 2004, it has raised more than $40 million from investors including Greylock Partners and Accel Partners, according to the site.

Pages can only be created by parties authorized by a given individual to create the page, Yu said. “If we are informed that the page is not authorized, we will typically take it down.”

The criminal case is U.S. v. Madoff, 08-MAG-02735, U.S. Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporters on this story: Linda Sandler in New York at lsandler@bloomberg.net; David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 23, 2008 00:01 EST