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Prosecutors are pinning their hopes on accountant’s Konigsberg’s insider’s knowledge of Bernie Madoff’s dark empire.
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US prosecutors are preparing to charge Bernard Madoff’s only surviving son Andrew, who was fingered as one of his notorious father’s co-conspirators by Madoff’s former accountant Paul Konigsberg. The accounted named Madoff Jr. in a plea deal.
Unnamed sources told Reuters that the co-conspirators mentioned in statements and court documents at Konigsberg’s June, 2014 plea hearing, are Madoff’s living son Andrew and deceased son Mark, who hanged himself in his Manhattan apartment on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest. Both boys used to work at Bernie Madoff’s investment firm.
Few in the business world and in law enforcement doubted that both Madoff’s children were directly involved in their father’s global Ponzi scheme, but they continued to deny any involvement. The scheme cost its investors an estimated $17 billion in principal.
Bernard Madoff, 76, pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison for controlling the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.
Prosecutors are pinning their hopes on Konigsberg’s insider’s knowledge of Bernie Madoff’s dark empire, and expect the accountant to take Andrew down with him, a legal expert told Reuters.
A spokesman for Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said that the Madoff investigation continues, including attempts to recover assets for Madoff’s victims.
On June 24, Konigsberg pleaded guilty to two counts of falsifying records and one count of conspiracy and, forfeited $4.4 million. He faces a maximum prison term of 30 years.
Konigsberg was the 15th person to be convicted at trial or to plead guilty in connection with the fraud.
In March 2014, five former Madoff aides were found guilty of securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud clients.
Bernard Madoff’s brother Peter pleaded guilty in 2012 to his part in the fraud and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Mark Madoff committed suicide in December 2010, at the age of 46, two years after his father’s arrest.
