After pleading guilty in federal court today as expected, Bernard Madoff had his bail promptly revoked by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin and was sent off to jail pending sentencing.
At the hearing in a packed Manhattan courtroom, Madoff admitted that he ran a Ponzi scheme for many years in his firm’s investment advisory business. According to the American Lawyer, which “live-blogged” the proceedings, Madoff stated in court that:
- he ran a Ponzi scheme on the investment side of his business, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.
- he was grateful for the opportunity to tell the court what he has done and apologized to friends, family, and business associates.
- he “knew what I was doing was wrong and criminal, but I thought I could do it quickly and extricate my clients from it.”
- he falsely represented to clients that he was investing their money in securities but stopped doing so during the recession of the early to mid-nineties.
- only the investment side of his business was engaged in illegal activity, and the company’s other businesses run by Madoff’s brother, Peter, and his two sons were legitimate.
The WSJ reports that Madoff will now likely spend the rest of his life in prison, as he faces charges carrying a maximum of 150 years in prison. His sentencing is set for June 16.
PHOTO: NY Times
