After admitting his brother confessed to him in 2008 about the massive fraud he’d committed, Peter Madoff plead guilty in June to criminal charges that included conspiracy to commit securities fraud as well as lying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Now, a federal prosecutor is asking a judge to give him ten years in prison for his role in the massive Ponzi scheme that cost thousands of investors millions of dollars.
As part of the plea made earlier this year, the prosecutor agreed to not pursue anymore time than ten years.
Very Serious Crimes
The filing today in a Manhattan federal court outlined the charges Madoff had faced, “Peter Madoff committed very serious crimes that served to conceal and perpetuate a multi-billion dollar fraud scheme” and later, the papers read, “engaged in a vast fraud scheme by which tens of millions of dollars were transferred within the Madoff family”. It specified that the goal was to bypass taxes while also monetarily providing for himself and his family. Sentencing will be December 20, 2012. His brother, meanwhile, continues his 150 year prison sentence. Bernard Madoff was also ordered to forfeit more than $170 billion.
The younger Madoff had worked as both the chief compliance officer and the senior managing director of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities for several years.
Two months ago, Madoff was standing in front of a judge and had requested that his sentencing be delayed. His reason was so he could file back taxes and offset some of the damage that would be left on his family’s shoulders. The judge agreed, but also required Madoff to prove he’d actually filed those taxes, believed to be at least ten years past due, starting in 1998.
At the time of his plea hearing, FBI Assistant Director Janice Fedarcyk said,
The Madoff investment empire, built on a foundation of deceit, was a house of cards that grew to skyscraper proportions. As Peter Madoff has admitted today, he was one of the chief architects. Peter Madoff played an essential enabling role in the largest investment fraud in U.S. history. He made a pretense of compliance; he was really about complicity.
Billions Due
The younger elder is now 66 years old and as his older brother was ordered to turn over the $170 billion, Peter Madoff was ordered to forfeit $143 billion. This is indicative, say prosecutors, of every dollar that went through the firm during the span of the conspiracy. Peter Madoff was with the firm for four decades, beginning in 1965. Many questioned why he didn’t receive a prison sentence in the triple digits like his brother.
Still, the younger Madoff contended for quite some time that he wasn’t aware of what was going on and that when he was finally brought in on the conspiracy, he said he was in “total shock”. Reading from prepared statement last summer,
I was shocked and devastated but nevertheless I did as my brother had said, as I had consistently done for decades. I knew that the conduct was wrong and I am deeply ashamed. My family was torn apart as a result of my brother’s atrocious conduct. I was reviled by strangers as well as friends who assumed that I knew about the Ponzi scheme.
His confession marked the eighth person to enter into pleas deals and admit they knew what was going on, even as the four year probe was ongoing. The fraud resulted in a massive $20 billion total that simply vanished, costing many investors their life savings.
Largest Fraud in Human History
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara worked out the plea and told the media,
Peter Madoff enabled the largest fraud in human history. He will now be jailed well into old age, and he will forfeit virtually every penny he has.
He continued,
We are not yet finished calling to account everyone responsible for the epic fraud of Bernard Madoff and the epic pain of his many victims.
There are no hard numbers in terms of how many investigations continue to move forward nor how many state or federal agencies conducting those investigations; however, Bharara has been committed since the very beginning in making sure all of those involved receive their just punishments.
Meanwhile and as part of the forfeiture agreement that was included in the plea deal, Madoff’s wife and daughter are also being forced to relinquish all of their assets as well. His wife has been ordered to sell the family homes though was given one time stipend of $772,000. Neither are facing jail time, however.
What are your thoughts? Do you think the younger Madoff should have been given more time than just ten years, especially considering his brother is serving 150 years and will likely never see freedom again? Bharara also said Peter Madoff will be in jail likely until he dies as well. Is it enough?
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