Published: January 7, 2009
Bernard Madoff, the financier accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, violated his parole by sending his friends and family packages containing 13 watches, 4 diamond brooches, a jade necklace, two sets of cufflinks and other jewelry totaling at least $1 million, federal prosecutors argued in a legal brief released Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Madoff had defied a judge's orders not to dispose of any assets by sending the packages of jewelry and valuables, and they argued that his actions violated the conditions of his bail and made him an increased flight risk. They asked that Madoff be taken into custody."The defendant has assets that cannot be effectively restrained, and his ties to New York have been largely severed be the loss of his New York business and his loss of status in the New York community," prosecutors said in the court filing.
Prosecutors, in the brief filed Tuesday, said most of the items sent have been recovered by the government. The brief said that two additional packages with unknown contents had been sent to Madoff's brother and an identified couple in Florida.
Madoff was charged last month with securities fraud but has remained free since posting bail of $10 million. He is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
The magistrate judge, Ronald Ellis of United States District Court in New York, is now expected to rule, possibly later Wednesday, on whether Madoff should stay under house arrest at his Upper East Side apartment, or be remanded to jail.
Both sides were ordered to submit legal briefs on the matter by Wednesday.
United States Attorney Marc O. Litt first asked for revocation of Madoff's bail on Monday, arguing that the gifts violated conditions that barred him from disposing of any of his assets.
The aggressive stance by prosecutors appeared to represent a serious deterioration in relations between the government and Madoff, who is said to have confessed to a huge Ponzi scheme last month and had seemed to be cooperating with investigators trying to unravel the fraud.
At the court hearing in New York, Litt told Judge Ellis that Madoff and his wife, Ruth, had mailed packages of valuables in late December to his sons, his brother and friends. Since mid-December, Madoff has been under house arrest at his luxury apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, guarded by private security guards paid for by his wife.
"The case against the defendant is strong and it continues to grow stronger as the government's investigation continues," Litt said. "Given the defendant's age, the length of the likely sentence, the strength of the proof against the defendant, including his confessions, these facts present a clear risk of flight."
Ira Lee Sorkin, a lawyer for Madoff, said at the hearing that Madoff had not meant to violate the agreement and should not be sent to jail. Madoff is not a flight risk, and he and his wife tried to recover the valuables after speaking to their lawyers and realizing they should not have mailed them, Sorkin said.
Madoff told FBI agents last month that he had overseen a financial fraud that had cost investors as much as $50 billion, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. The fraud was continuing just days before Madoff confessed it to the FBI, according to a lawsuit filed by a New York company that claims Madoff took in $10 million from it on Dec. 5.
A government-appointed receiver has now taken over his firm, and SEC agents and FBI investigators are conducting a far-flung investigation to see who might have aided Madoff. On Monday, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's firm sent 8,000 claim forms to people who may have invested with Madoff, asking them to detail what they believe they are owed.
Court filing details items sent by Madoff
By Jack Healy and Alex BerensonPublished: January 7, 2009
Bernard Madoff, the financier accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, violated his parole by sending his friends and family packages containing 13 watches, 4 diamond brooches, a jade necklace, two sets of cufflinks and other jewelry totaling at least $1 million, federal prosecutors argued in a legal brief released Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Madoff had defied a judge's orders not to dispose of any assets by sending the packages of jewelry and valuables, and they argued that his actions violated the conditions of his bail and made him an increased flight risk. They asked that Madoff be taken into custody."The defendant has assets that cannot be effectively restrained, and his ties to New York have been largely severed be the loss of his New York business and his loss of status in the New York community," prosecutors said in the court filing.
Prosecutors, in the brief filed Tuesday, said most of the items sent have been recovered by the government. The brief said that two additional packages with unknown contents had been sent to Madoff's brother and an identified couple in Florida.
Madoff was charged last month with securities fraud but has remained free since posting bail of $10 million. He is accused of running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
The magistrate judge, Ronald Ellis of United States District Court in New York, is now expected to rule, possibly later Wednesday, on whether Madoff should stay under house arrest at his Upper East Side apartment, or be remanded to jail.
Both sides were ordered to submit legal briefs on the matter by Wednesday.
United States Attorney Marc O. Litt first asked for revocation of Madoff's bail on Monday, arguing that the gifts violated conditions that barred him from disposing of any of his assets.
The aggressive stance by prosecutors appeared to represent a serious deterioration in relations between the government and Madoff, who is said to have confessed to a huge Ponzi scheme last month and had seemed to be cooperating with investigators trying to unravel the fraud.
At the court hearing in New York, Litt told Judge Ellis that Madoff and his wife, Ruth, had mailed packages of valuables in late December to his sons, his brother and friends. Since mid-December, Madoff has been under house arrest at his luxury apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, guarded by private security guards paid for by his wife.
"The case against the defendant is strong and it continues to grow stronger as the government's investigation continues," Litt said. "Given the defendant's age, the length of the likely sentence, the strength of the proof against the defendant, including his confessions, these facts present a clear risk of flight."
Ira Lee Sorkin, a lawyer for Madoff, said at the hearing that Madoff had not meant to violate the agreement and should not be sent to jail. Madoff is not a flight risk, and he and his wife tried to recover the valuables after speaking to their lawyers and realizing they should not have mailed them, Sorkin said.
Madoff told FBI agents last month that he had overseen a financial fraud that had cost investors as much as $50 billion, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. The fraud was continuing just days before Madoff confessed it to the FBI, according to a lawsuit filed by a New York company that claims Madoff took in $10 million from it on Dec. 5.
A government-appointed receiver has now taken over his firm, and SEC agents and FBI investigators are conducting a far-flung investigation to see who might have aided Madoff. On Monday, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's firm sent 8,000 claim forms to people who may have invested with Madoff, asking them to detail what they believe they are owed.
Di pos oleh Arbain Muhayat pada 08 January 2009