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 |  New York Times -
Nov-03-2009Madoff's Accountant Pleads Guilty in Scheme(topic overview)
CONTENTS:
- NEW YORK Bernie Madoff's longtime accountant, David Friehling, a Liberty High School graduate, will plead guilty in federal court to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and impeding the administration of internal-revenue laws. (More...)
- FILE - In this July 17, 2009 file photo, Bernard Madoff's accountant David Friehling exits Manhattan federal court in New York. (More...)
- Federal prosecutors indicated on Friday that Bernard L. Madoff'''s longtime accountant was expected to plead guilty next week and had agreed to cooperate with investigators. (More...)
- Bernard Madoff's auditor, who was responsible for certifying the financial statements of the confessed Ponzi schemer, has agreed to plead guilty, according to the Justice Department. (More...)
- DiPascali is behind bars as prosecutors try to convince a judge to let the convicted co-conspirator out on bail so he can more easily assist the investigation. (More...)
- Friehling will plead guilty on Nov. 3 as part of a cooperation agreement with the feds. (More...)
- The U.S. Attorney's Office revealed the plea deal in a letter filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requested that the court make the letter public "in order to provide notice to victims of the anticipated guilty plea proceeding." (More...)
- According to the indictment filed against Friehling in March, from the early 1990s through December 2008, Friehling created false and fraudulent certified financial statements for Madoff's investment firms. (More...)
- Each charge carries a maximum of 20 years in jail, but prosecutorial deals will probably see much reduced sentences if the guilty plea goes ahead. (More...)
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NEW YORK Bernie Madoff's longtime accountant, David Friehling, a Liberty High School graduate, will plead guilty in federal court to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and impeding the administration of internal-revenue laws. Madoff, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 years for his crimes, is at the center of a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of more than $50 billion. Friehling, the sole practitioner of Friehling & Horowitz CPAs, was Madoff's accountant from 1991 to 2008; from 2004 to 2007, he was paid between $12,000 and $14,500 per month. According to the charges against Friehling, he created false and fraudulent certified financial statements for Madoff's investment firms. [1] NEW YORK — Disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges Tuesday in a cooperation deal that could leave him behind bars for years. The government said David Friehling, whose plea was accepted in federal court in Manhattan, would have known that Madoff was carrying out history's biggest Ponzi scheme — because he kept the books.[2]
NEW YORK — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's (MAY'-dawfs) longtime auditor has entered a guilty plea in a federal court in Manhattan. The judge was questioning him before deciding whether to accept it. Prosecutors said previously that they expected Friehling to plead guilty to securities fraud and other charges that are punishable by up to 108 years in prison.[3] NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- David Friehling, the long-time accountant for Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges next week, in a deal with federal prosecutors. In a letter to Judge Alvin Hellerstein of U.S. District Court in Manhattan, prosecutors said they expect Friehling to plead guilty on Nov. 3 "in pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the government."[4] NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The former accountant to convicted Ponzi-scheme operator Bernard Madoff is expected to plead guilty to fraud and other charges at a hearing next week, prosecutors said Friday. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said they expect David G. Friehling to plead guilty at a hearing Nov. 3 under a cooperation agreement with the government.[5]
In a letter filed in federal court in Manhattan, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Baroni and Marc Litt said that it is expected that David G. Friehling, 49, of upstate New City, will plead guilty Nov. 3 to charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and obstructing tax collection laws. The prosecutors also said that Friehling will be making his plea in connection with a cooperation agreement. He would face maximum sentences of 20 years on the most serious securities fraud charges.[6] Bernard Madoff's longtime auditor is expected to plead guilty next week in a cooperation deal. Prosecutors told a federal judge in Manhattan today that David Friehling will plead on Tuesday to revised charges accusing him of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and obstructing the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.[7] Prosecutors said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that accountant David Friehling was expected to plead guilty Tuesday. They said Friehling would enter the plea to revised charges that accuse him of securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and obstructing or impeding the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.[8] Charged in March with only securities fraud, Friehling is set to plead guilty to seven counts, including securities and investment adviser fraud, as well as obstructing tax law administration and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Friday.[9]
Friehling has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, three counts of making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and one count of obstruction or impeding the administration of the internal revenue laws. He could plead guilty to one or more of those charges, or possibly another count in the superseding criminal complaint.[10] "The defendant will plead guilty to the Information pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the Government," Baroni wrote. Friehling, who ran his accountancy out of a suburb of New York, faces up to 108 years in prison if he pleads guilty to all seven charges of fraud, false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and obstructing the tax authorities. Defendants often receive lighter sentences if they plead guilty and cooperate with investigators.[11] Friehling is accused of filing false audit statements for 17 years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that stated the financial books for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were legitimate. Madoff paid Friehling $12,000 to $14,500 monthly to act as his auditor. Authorities say if Friehling had done his job, Madoff's financial statements would have shown his company owed billions of dollars to customers and was insolvent. Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to charges that his investment business was a fraud.[12] Friehling has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, four counts of making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and one count of obstruction or impeding the administration of the internal revenue laws.[12] Prosecutors said last week that Friehling would enter a plea to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and obstructing or impeding the administration of the Internal Revenue laws.[2] In a letter released Friday in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors said Friehling is expected to admit to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, making false statements to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and breaking tax laws.[13]
David G. Friehling, the defendant, will plead guilty pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the Government," prosecutors said in a letter to the judge handling the case in Manhattan federal court. Friehling initially pled not guilty, but is now expected to change his plea to guilty at a hearing on Tuesday in New York. His attorneys have been trying for months to work out a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation.[14] Friehling will plead guilty on Nov. 3 as part of a cooperation agreement with the feds. The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a letter with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan outlining the bare bones of the plea agreement, requesting that the judge direct the office to post the letter publicly "in order to provide notice to victims of the anticipated guilty plea proceeding," and that notice be made on the web page for case against Madoff.[15]
A plea of guilty from David G. Friehling had been anticipated. Prosecutors started the formal process on Friday in a letter to U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, saying the auditor will enter his plea on Tuesday under a cooperation agreement with the government.[16] A letter filed last week with the judge states that federal prosecutors and David Friehling's lawyer "anticipate that" Friehling will "plead guilty to the (criminal) information pursuant to a cooperation agreement with the government."[10]
Prosecutors said in a letter to a federal judge in Manhattan that accountant David Friehling is expected to plead guilty at a conference on Tuesday.[17]
MANHATTAN Bernie Madoff's longtime accountant David Friehling, who once attended Liberty High School, will plead guilty in federal court to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud and other charges, according to court records.[15] David Friehling, the accountant who oversaw Bernard Madoff's accounts for 17 years, will plead guilty to criminal charges linked to his role in $65 billion Ponzi scheme next week. According to a report from The Times of London, experts are doubtful that Friehling and his small, suburban New York firm could have actually fully audited Madoff's accounts a charge he had previously denied.[18] The New City accountant accused of helping Bernard Madoff hide a $65 billion Ponzi scheme is scheduled to plead guilty to a federal charge when he appears in court Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan.[10] Bernard Madoff's accountant will plead guilty next week to criminal charges linked to his role in the $65 billion (£40 billion) Ponzi scheme orchestrated by the convicted fraudster.[19]
David Friehling, the long-time accountant of Bernard Madoff, will plead guilty to fraud charges next week, prosecutors have revealed, widening the net of conspirators in the biggest "Ponzi" scheme in history.[20] A long-time accountant for ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, will plead guilty to fraud charges next week. Prosecutors say they've reached a deal with David Friehling, who is accused of "rubber stamping" Madoff's books.[21]
David Friehling, who worked for many years as accountant for Ponzi swindler Bernard Madoff, is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges next week.[22] Guilty Plea: David G. Friehling, former accountant to convicted Ponzi-scheme operator Bernard Madoff, is expected to plead guilty to fraud and other charges at a hearing Tuesday.[23]
NEW YORK, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Arch swindler Bernard Madoff's former outside accountant will plead guilty to criminal charges next Tuesday as part of an agreement to help investigators of the multibillion-dollar Madoff fraud, U.S. prosecutors said.[24] AP's earlier story is below. NEW YORK (AP) — Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's (MAY'-dawfs) longtime auditor is expected to plead guilty to securities fraud and other charges that could leave him behind bars for years.[3] Bernard Madoff's auditor is expected to plead guilty Disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff's longtime auditor is expected to plead guilty next week in a cooperation deal, federal prosecutors told a judge in New York.[8] After signing a deal with federal prosecutors, it is expected the judge in the trial will accept the cooperation agreement. Frieling worked out of an office in New City for Madoff and has been accused of helping present a line to customers that Bernard Madoff was investing their money legitimately.[22]
Bernard Madoff'''s accountant has struck a deal with federal prosecutors, admitting that he played a role in the $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Authorities first suspected David Friehling of little more than not doing his job, signing off on financial statements without actually doing the accounting legwork.''[9] The 71-year-old Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence at a prison in North Carolina. Despite the more than $65 billion in private investments that Madoff claimed he oversaw for thousands of investors, Friehling seemed to be a small-time auditor with a tiny office in suburban New City, N.Y. Authorities say he appeared to have rubber stamped Madoff's records. Authorities say if Friehling had done his job, they would have known years earlier that Madoff was carrying out history's greatest Ponzi scheme by paying money to some investors with the proceeds he received from other investors. When Madoff revealed his fraud last December in a confession to his sons and later to the FBI, it was discovered that only a few hundred million dollars was left of the more than $170 billion that prosecutors say went through his accounts over the years. Prosecutors say investors originally entrusted Madoff with more than $13 billion and he greatly exaggerated bogus gains. It's the third plea in the case. Frank DiPascali, Madoff's former finance chief, also is cooperating after pleading guilty in August to helping Madoff carry out his fraud.[2] Madoff was sentenced in June to 150 years in prison after admitting the fraud - the largest in history. Since his confession and guilty plea, prosecutors have been trying to piece together how the Ponzi scheme - which takes money from new investors to pay existing ones - grew so large and ran for so long. When prosecutors filed criminal charges against Mr Friehling in March, contending he did not conduct proper audits, he initially pleaded not guilty. Today (Friday) prosecutors indicated that this had changed.[19]
The charges carry a potential prison term of up to 108 years in prison, though substantial cooperation with prosecutors can result in leniency. Friehling, 49, was Madoff's auditor from 1991 to 2008, roughly the amount of time that Madoff admitted he carried out his fraud when he pleaded guilty in March.[2]
The guilty plea had been expected. Prosecutors said previously that they expected Friehling to plead guilty to securities fraud and other charges that are punishable by up to 108 years in prison.[25] Friehling was scheduled for a Manhattan federal court appearance on Tuesday. Prosecutors have said they expect Friehling to plead guilty to charges that are punishable by up to 108 years in prison.[3]
Another figure in the Madoff affair should be headed to prison in the near future. David Friehling, Bernie's sketchy accountant and the man supposedly responsible for overseeing Madoff's financial activities out of his one-man firm in Rockland County, is expected to plead guilty to a variety of charges next week. He and faces a maximum of 108 years in prison.[26] David Friehling, right, is expected to plead guilty for charges related to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme.[4] Bernard Madoff's former accountant is slated to plead guilty on Election Day to a variety of fraud and other charges in connection with largest Ponzi scheme ever to hit Wall Street, officials said Friday.[6] NEW YORK — The accountant accused of helping Bernard Madoff steal billions of dollars in Wall Street's biggest Ponzi scheme is ready to plead guilty, prosecutors in New York said Friday.[11] Bernard Madoff's longtime accountant is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to multiple fraud counts related to Madoff's decades-long Ponzi scheme.[13]
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Friehling, who operated from a storefront office in Rockland County, was arrested shortly after Madoff pleaded guilty to the scheme in which investors are believed to have lost more than $21 billion. Madoff had told investors their accounts were worth a bogus $64.5 billion when his firm went under. Friehling, who is free on bail, wasn't initially accused of knowing about Madoff's fraud, but rather that he failed to assure the accuracy of audits and representations he made to government investigators and the SEC.[6] Mr Friehling is one of only three people, including Madoff and his right hand man Frank DiPascali, who have been criminally charged in relation to the case so far. Mr Di Pascali, the former finance chief at Madoff Securities, who worked at the firm for more than 33 years, entered his own guilty plea in August. He is due for sentencing in the spring and remains in prison while a judge considers his second application for bail. In a separate development this week, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing claims by Madoff's victims has raised his tally of their cash losses from $13 to $21.2 billion. The figure represents the total of the cash lost by the approximately 2,300 accounts held by investors who put more into the scheme than they withdrew over time. It contrasts with the headline figure of $65 billion, which includes fictitious profits added to customer accounts by Madoff over the years. Mr Picard said he had approved $4.4 billion in claims, and located about $1.5 billion in assets that will help cover a portion of them.[19] More than $534 million has been paid to 1,368 victims of Bernard Madoff through the national fund Securities Investor Protection Corp. that insures against failed brokerage firms, according to Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to recover assets for investors with the convicted swindler. Picard said (via the Boston Globe ) he has so far identified allowable claims totaling $4.43 billion and is still processing thousands of claims filed by alleged victims, in a call with reporters yesterday. To date, he has identified 2,335 investment accounts with net losses of $21.2 billion with Madoff.'''' Picard said he has only recovered about 5% of those losses or $1.4 billion so far and expects to file more lawsuits to force the return of money some investors unknowingly made at the expense of others.'' Picard said his staff has found 2,568 investors who withdrew more money from Madoff accounts than they originally invested. Those investors are vulnerable to what is called clawback lawsuits that demand they return some of the money they made. Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.[27]
Mr. Friehling was Mr. Madoff'''s auditor from 1991 to 2008. Mr. Madoff told clients that Mr. Friehling audited his investment advisory business from a small office with a bare-bones staff in suburban New City, N.Y., an arrangement that made several investors suspicious for years. Regulators say that if Mr. Friehling had done his job, Mr. Madoff'''s financial statements would have shown his company owed billions of dollars to customers and was insolvent.[28]
Friehling was Madoff's auditor from 1991 to 2008. Authorities say if Friehling had done his job, Madoff's financial statements would have shown his company owed billions of dollars to customers. Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after he admitted to the multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.[7] Madoff is at the center of a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims of more than $50 billion. He pleaded guilty and is serving a 150-year prison sentence.[15] Friehling's lawyer Andrew Lankler declined to comment to CNNMoney. Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to 11 federal counts related to his long-running Ponzi scheme and is serving a 150-year sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Butner in North Carolina.[4] Madoff himself pleaded guilty in March after confessing to the Ponzi scheme last December. He is serving a 150-year prison term in Butner, North Carolina.[14]
Mr. Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to running the largest Ponzi scheme in Wall Street history. Investigators are still trying to piece together the extent of the fraud and are still examining whether Mr. Madoff'''s family members, who held top positions at his firm, were involved.[28] Investors duped in Madoff's scam lost 21.2 billion dollars, the court-appointed liquidator said Wednesday. The figure, far higher than an earlier estimate of 13 billion dollars, represents estimated losses by investors who put more into Madoff's fraudulent investment firm than they withdrew, said the liquidator, Irving Picard. Madoff, now serving a 150-year prison sentence for fraud, claimed just before his arrest last December to have been managing 65 million dollars.[11] David Friehling, who helped run a small accounting firm in Rockland County, is accused of helping Madoff get away with the $50 billion fraud for so long by allegedly filing false audit reports about Madoff's investments without performing any review.[25] David Friehling will plead guilty to seven criminal counts including fraud, filing false statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and obstructing the IRS.[14] Friehling was originally arrested in March.'' He is accused of falsely certifying Madoff's books and has been charged with seven counts, including securities fraud and false filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.'' Friehling's "deception helped foster the illusion that Mr. Madoff legitimately invested his client's money," according to prosecutors.[27] Friehling has been charged with seven counts, including securities fraud and false filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and fines of up to $5 million.[4] In addition to securities fraud, Friehling was also charged with investment adviser fraud, making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission and obstructing the IRS.[25]
Friehling is accused of filing false audit statements for 17 years with the Securities and Exchange Commission that stated the financial books for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were legitimate.[10]
Rather than revealing the smoke-and-mirrors nature of Madoff's scheme, prosecutors have said, Friehling essentially rubber-stamped the books and covered Madoff's tracks. Those statements were then filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and sent to Madoff's clients.[15]
Picard has sued Madoff's wife, brother, two sons and a niece. Late Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission released a report by Inspector General H. David Kotz of his investigation into the SEC's failure to uncover Madoff's scam.[13] The fraudulent statements were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and sent to Madoff's clients.[1]
FILE - In this July 17, 2009 file photo, Bernard Madoff's accountant David Friehling exits Manhattan federal court in New York. [2] David Friehling, Bernard Madoff ]] Bernard Madoff's accountant, exits federal court in Manhattan ]] Manhattan this past summer.[6]
David Friehling will agree to cooperate with the government and will enter a guilty plea on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Baroni said in a letter to the federal court in Manhattan.[11]
Mr Friehling will plead guilty to seven counts of fraud next Tuesday, prosecutors said in a letter to Judge Alvin Hellerstein, of New York's southern district court, on Thursday.[20] Friehling reaches deal in fraud case, prosecutors say; expected to plead guilty Nov. 3.[4] In addition to securities and investment advisor fraud, Friehling is also expected to plead guilty to making false filings with the SEC and obstructing or impeding the administration of internal revenue laws.[15] In July, Mr. Friehling pleaded not guilty to charges including securities fraud and investment adviser fraud.[28]
Only three people have been charged criminally so far: Madoff, DiPascali and Friehling. Last week, a federal judge in Manhattan denied bail for DiPascali, who has been cooperating after pleading guilty in August to helping Madoff carry out his fraud.[13] Friehling is also cooperating with the government investigation into the Madoff probe, the prosecutors told the judge. The government is also demanding that the account forfeit all of his profits from the fraud, from the early 1990s until last year.[9]
The more serious counts carriy a maximum sentence of 20 years and fines of up to $5 million, so Friehling, 49, could face up over a 100 years in prison, though substantial cooperation with prosecutors can result in leniency.'' Still it should leave him plenty of time to cool his heals with Madoff, who is serving a 150-year sentence at a prison in North Carolina.[27] Substantial cooperation can result in leniency. Prosecutors said Friehling would have known that Madoff was carrying out history's biggest Ponzi scheme — because he kept the books.[3]
Frieling, who operated out of an office in New City, N.Y., about 20 miles north of New York City, is accused of "rubber stamping" Madoff's books. Prosecutors have said that Friehling's "deception helped foster the illusion that Mr. Madoff legitimately invested his client's money."[4] David Friehling, who is accused of rubber-stamping Madoff's accounts for 17 years, worked out of a suburban New York firm so small that experts say it could never have properly audited the swindler's huge asset management business.[19] Madoff'''s use of Friehling'''s firm, Friehling & Horowitz, is often cited as one of the biggest red flags in the Madoff case. The firm operated out of storefront office in a strip mall in the northern New York City suburb of New City, N.Y. Friehling was the only principal of the firm'''his father-in-law, Jerome Horowitz, has been retired for more than a decade'''and had told the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that he had stopped conducting audits.[9]
Friehling, who was the sole practitioner of Friehling & Horowitz CPAs, was Madoff's accountant from 1991 to 2008, was paid between $12,000 and $14,500 per month between 2004 and 2007. An FBI investigation showed that in his audits, Friehling failed to independently verify Madoff's firm's assets, review the sources of revenue, examine the bank account through which millions of dollars from Madoff's clients flowed, to verify liabilities related to the clients' accounts or to verify the purchase of custody of securities by Madoff's firm.[15]
Federal prosecutors indicated on Friday that Bernard L. Madoff'''s longtime accountant was expected to plead guilty next week and had agreed to cooperate with investigators. [28] Federal prosecutors say the financier's longtime accountant is expected to plead guilty next week as part of a deal.[29]
Bernard Madoff's auditor, who was responsible for certifying the financial statements of the confessed Ponzi schemer, has agreed to plead guilty, according to the Justice Department. [14] WASHINGTON (AP) ' The bright economic picture of yesterday has been followed by some troubling news today -- and that's sent stocks on a big retreat. The government reported this morning that consumer spending dropped by a half of a percent last month. Economists are worried that if households cut back on their spending in the months ahead, the recovery could stall. NEW YORK (AP) ' He handled Bernard Madoff's books -- and now, he may be ready to join Madoff behind bars.[29] "Cooperators who have overviews provide not just investigative leads but explanations and insights into a silent paper trail," said Daniel Richman, a Professor of Law at Columbia University in New York. "Insiders like DiPascali and Friehling seem to have had very close contact with Madoff and the full extent of his business operations."[24]
The Palo Alto company asked for more than $7 billion in damages in the suit filed in February. Facebook doesn't expect to receive a "vast majority" of the award against Wallace, according to a blog posting on its website. LENDING Icahn backs CIT restructure plan Commercial lender CIT Group Inc. said that billionaire investor and bondholder Carl Icahn had agreed to support its restructuring plan amid reports that the New York company might soon file for bankruptcy protection.[8]
The Securities Investors Protection Corporation (SIPC), the industry-financed fund working with Mr Picard to help compensate Madoff investors, said it had distributed $534 million to more than 1,550 victims.[19] Friehling, 49, is the second person after Madoff's longtime deputy Frank DiPascali, 53, to be acknowledged as a government cooperator in the case that shook investor confidence when the once-respected financier Madoff confessed and was arrested last December.[24]
The criminal information against Friehling is set to be unsealed on Tuesday. He is the third person, after Madoff himself and Madoff'''s chief financial officer, Frank DiPascali. Friehling faces up to 100 years in prison, although he obviously hopes his cooperation wins him a lesser tariff.[9] The charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 108 years in prison, but government cooperation can substantially decrease the penalty. The government also is demanding that the he forfeit all of his profits from the fraud, from the early 1990s until last year.[13] The charges carry a prison term of up to 108 years. Cooperation with prosecutors could give him a shorter sentence.[7] The charges carry a potential prison term of up to 108 years in prison, although substantial cooperation with prosecutors can result in leniency.[8]
DiPascali is behind bars as prosecutors try to convince a judge to let the convicted co-conspirator out on bail so he can more easily assist the investigation. Madoff remains behind bars on his 150-year prison sentence. [25] Madoff, 71, is serving a 150-year sentence at a federal prison in North Carolina for masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme in history.[13]
Madoff's right hand man Frank DiPascali pleaded guilty and is hoping for a reduced sentence by helping the FBI track others involved.[25]
Friehling will plead guilty on Nov. 3 as part of a cooperation agreement with the feds. [1] The updated criminal information to which Friehling is expected to plead won't be filed until just before the court session before U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan.[10] The updated criminal information to which Friehling is expected to plead won't be filed until just before Tuesday's court session before U.S District Court Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein in Manhattan. Friehling's lawyer, Andrew Lankler in Manhattan, said today that he's aware of the prosecution's letter to the judge but he declined comment.[12]
The U.S. Attorney's Office revealed the plea deal in a letter filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and requested that the court make the letter public "in order to provide notice to victims of the anticipated guilty plea proceeding." [1] The letter was filed "to provide notice to the victims of the anticipated guilty plea," wrote assistant U.S. attorneys Lisa A. Baroni and Marc Litt to the judge.[12]
Facebook wins spammer suit Facebook Inc., the world's most popular social-networking website, was awarded $711 million in damages against a spammer who gained access to users' accounts and sent phony messages. Sanford Wallace sent unsolicited mass e-mails to users, tricking many of them into divulging their log-in information or redirecting them to websites that paid him for each visit, Facebook claimed in a lawsuit. "Wallace willfully violated the statutes in question with blatant disregard for the rights of Facebook users whose accounts were compromised by his conduct," U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose said in a court order.[8]
According to the indictment filed against Friehling in March, from the early 1990s through December 2008, Friehling created false and fraudulent certified financial statements for Madoff's investment firms. [15] Rather than revealing the smoke-and-mirrors nature of Madoff's scheme, prosecutors have said, Friehling essentially rubber-stamped the books and covered Madoff's tracks.[1]
Each charge carries a maximum of 20 years in jail, but prosecutorial deals will probably see much reduced sentences if the guilty plea goes ahead. [22]
SOURCES
1. Madoff's accountant, a Liberty grad, to plead guilty | RecordOnline.com
2. The Associated Press: Madoff's longtime auditor pleads guilty
3. The Associated Press: Madoff auditor says he's pleading guilty
4. Madoff accountant cooperating, prosecutors say - Oct. 30, 2009
5. Madoff Accountant Friehling Expected To Plead Guilty Nov. 3 - WSJ.com
6. Madoff accountant expected to plead guilty to securities fraud
7. NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Features | Madoff Auditor To Plead Guilty Next Week
8. Business Briefing -- latimes.com
9. Madoff Accountant To Plead Guilty, Cooperate With Probe | FINalternatives
10. Local briefs | LoHud.com | The Journal News
11. AFP: Madoff accountant to plead guilty: prosecutors
12. Madoff's New City accountant will plead guilty to federal charges: prosecutors | LoHud.com | The Journal News
13. Madoff accountant Friehling expected to plead guilty to fraud counts
14. Ex-Madoff Accountant to Plead Guilty Next Week - General * US * News * Story - CNBC.com
15. Madoff associate with Liberty ties will plead guilty to securities fraud | RecordOnline.com
16. Guilty Plea Expected by Madoff Ex-Auditor - WSJ.com
17. The Associated Press: NY prosecutors: Madoff accountant to enter plea
18. emii.com: Madoff Accountant To Plead Guilty
19. Madoff accountant will plead guilty to fraud - Times Online
20. FT.com / UK - Madoff accountant to plead guilty
21. Mid-Evening Headlines & News to Know
22. Madoff accountant expected to offer guilty plea
23. Fed to Discuss Interest Rates - WSJ.com
24. UPDATE 3-Ex-Madoff accountant to admit guilt, cooperates | Reuters
25. Madoff Accountant Pleads Guilty | NBC New York
26. Cityfile: Madoff Enabler to Plead Guilty
27. Madoff's Accountant to Plead Guilty - $534m Paid out to His Victims So Far | ChattahBox News Blog
28. Madoff's Accountant To Plead Guilty - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com
29. 9&10 News: Stocks retreat on spending worries. Madoff accountant plea. More flu deaths
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