On Dec. 10, a 48-year-old man was the fourth former employee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. to be convicted and sentenced on securities fraud charges and conspiracy. The man worked as a computer programmer from 1991 to 2008, an era of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme that cost investors billions.
The programmer received a 2.5-year sentence after being found guilty by a Manhattan federal jury in early 2014. This was also six years and one day after Madoff’s initial arrest; Madoff himself is currently serving a 150-year prison term.
According to prosecutors in the case, the convicted former employees allegedly backdated trades and created false documents with knowledge of the Madoff fraud. They also said that the former programmer was the one who enabled the increase of the fraud that was perpetrated by maintaining the company’s computer programs.
According to the defendants, they were deceived by Madoff and believed that the business was lawful. An appeal is anticipated in each of their convictions. They all received lesser sentences than the prosecution had proposed. Prosecutors had asked for more than eight years in the case of the former computer programmer. On Dec. 8, another former employee was sentenced to 10 years. The next day, another former Madoff computer programmer also received 2.5 years, and a former manager was sentenced to six years.
When an individual is charged with white collar crimes, they could be facing a prison sentence, as in this case. A criminal attorney with a background in handling white collar criminal cases could help to advise the accused regarding his or her rights and how to proceed with building a strong defense. An attorney could recommend a plea deal for probation or a lesser sentence.
Source: reuters, “Ex-Madoff computer programmer gets 2-1/2 years prison for fraud“, Nate Raymond, December 10, 2014