Bernard Madoff

Tax relief for thousands of small, indirect investors in Bernard Madoff's swindle and other fraudulent schemes appears close to Senate adoption as part of a broader bill to extend unemployment benefits. An amendment by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., puts the indirect Madoff investors — who channeled their money through "feeder funds" run by middlemen — on the same tax footing for their "phantom" profits as wealthy investors who were required to put up millions to invest directly. The people who invested through feeder funds often weren't aware that their money went to Madoff. The unemployment extension bill, which provides up to 14 additional weeks ... Read Full Story

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's (MAY'-dawfs) longtime auditor has entered a guilty plea in a federal court in Manhattan. David Friehling (FREE'-ling) entered a plea Tuesday. 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. However, 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. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former outside accountant for Bernard Madoff's firm pleaded guilty to fraud charges on Tuesday, but told a U.S. judge he did not know about the swindler's massive Ponzi scheme. The judge ordered the former accountant, David Friehling, to remain free on bond of $2.5 million until he is sentenced next year. "At no time was I aware that Mr Madoff was engaged in a Ponzi scheme," Friehling told U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court in pleading guilty to charges of securities fraud and several other crimes. "I never had contact with investors and never acted as ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. securities investigators raised repeated concern over how Bernard Madoff could be running an honest business, but never followed through on the many red flags they uncovered. Hundreds of documents released on Friday by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's portray an agency at times skeptical or dismissive of evidence that the now imprisoned mastermind of the world's largest Ponzi scheme was up to no good. At other times, it appeared the agency knew that goings-on at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC were improper but never followed through on their discoveries or on the allegations of chief whistleblower Harry Markopolos. ... Read Full Story

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Epic fraudster Bernard Madoff's former outside accountant will plead guilty to criminal charges next Tuesday for his role in the multibillion-dollar Madoff fraud, U.S. prosecutors said on Friday. The accountant, David Friehling, worked out of a small suburban New York firm, and accounting experts say it would have been next to impossible for it to have properly audited Madoff's huge asset management business. Only three people -- Madoff, his longtime deputy Frank DiPascali and Friehling -- have been criminally charged so far in the case considered the biggest investment fraud in Wall Street history, involving as much as $65 billion. ... Read Full Story