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On Thursday, US District Judge Laura Taylor Swain approved a 10-year prison sentence and forfeiture of a symbolic $143.1 billion in the case of Peter Madoff, the younger brother of Bernie Madoff.
Peter had pleaded guilty in June to criminal charges in relation with his brother’s multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, including charges for falsifying the books and records of the company and also conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
During his sentencing, Peter Madoff said, “I am deeply ashamed of my conduct… I accept full responsibility for my actions.” Bernard Madoff, 74, had been sentenced in 2009 to a 150-year prison term. Peter and his brother were the only members of the Madoff family criminally charged in connection with the Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors said, that in his role of chief compliance officer and a senior managing director at Bernard Madoff’s firm, Peter Madoff, a lawyer, had helped create false documents that misled all concerned to believe that the company had an effective compliance program in place.
Prosecutors also said, that had a compliance program being in place, then it would have showed no trades were taking place. In fact, without the connivance of Peter, it would not have been possible to hide the Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors had alleged that Peter Madoff had moved money around within the Madoff family to the tune of millions of dollars to avoid tax payments to the IRS. He also put his wife on the company payroll in a no show job.
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Despite evidence to the contrary, Peter Madoff’s lawyers had argued in court that Peter had learned of the Ponzi scheme only a few days before the media caught on to it. According to the trustee charged with recovering money for the victims of the scheme, customers had lost at least $20 billion.
