Madoff due for sentencing in Ponzi scheme case
The wheels of justice are due to make one more turn later this month in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme case. Madoff is due to appear in late June 2009 before a Federal Court in New York to be sentenced for his part in the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
What has confounded forensic investigators, prosecutors and forensic accountants is the fact that they are publicly no closer to establishing exactly who else may have assisted Madoff in planning, executing and concealing the mammoth fraud. Madoff, now 71 years old, has refused to assist in unraveling the structures and intrigues of his fraudulent management of other people’s money via Madoff Investment Securities. Madoff is the only person to be charged in this matter so far, despite a number of his close family members holding integral positions within the Madoff investment structure.
Tracking the structure and movements within a fraudulent investment scheme which is thought to have spanned decades has proven to be a tough nut for forensic investigators to crack. Sorting through false bank statements, fake trades and non existent deposits has taken months and are still yet to provide definite information as to who else may have directly and knowingly assisted Madoff with the fraud. Investigators have been able to show that trades which were said to have been entered into and were declared in clients’ monthly statements, in fact never occurred. However, this still leaves the issue as to who else knew what Madoff was up to.
By pleading guilty to the fraud charges at the first instance, Madoff has denied his victims and the public at large a public airing as to how the Ponzi scheme was operated and the fraud perpetrated. Many victims are incredulous as to how no-one else within the Madoff investment scheme structure could have failed to notice what was happening. In the meantime, Madoff’s wife Ruth continues to live in a penthouse apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and the couple’s two sons, Andrew and Mark, have denied all knowledge of wrongdoing despite both of them holding senior positions at Madoff Securities.
In the run up to the sentencing hearing, over 100 former clients who lost their money in the US$65 Billion Ponzi scheme have detailed the anguish wreaked on their lives in written statements to the Judge in charge of sentencing Madoff.
The bulk of the submissions brand Madoff nothing less than a scoundrel, a criminal, a monster and a psychopath. They tell of lives torn apart by the earthquake of losing their savings and retirement funds to a man they trusted. Many investors placed their entire funds with Madoff Investment Securities and have since been cast into destitution. For every celebrity or wealthy investor mentioned in the glare of publicity as losing some of their funds, there are dozens of average middle class investors who have lost everything.
Many of the victims have demanded that Madoff receive the maximum 150 years in jail, meaning that Madoff would certainly die behind bars. However, this will not restore any of the monies squandered or ease the victims’ plight.
Meanwhile, liquidators are seeking to identify other investors who managed to extricate their funds from Madoff Investment Securities before the whole edifice came crashing down. Liquidators have indicated that they may apply to seize these extricated funds and share them with other Madoff victims.
One thing is certain; the wheels of justice have a few more rotations to spin in the Madoff Ponzi scheme saga. How long before Hollywood takes an interest and the first movies based on Madoff’s escapades hit our screens?
Forensic Investigation: Avoiding “Boiler Room Fraud” : : Intellisec Articles says:
[...] with a $140 million stock manipulation fraud. And all this in the shadow of the mind-boggling Bernard Madoff debacle. This shows yet again how careful you need to be. Clearly, none of the investors hoodwinked [...]
July 9th, 2009 at 4:33 am