Second Circuit upholds convictions of Madoff firm former employees News
Second Circuit upholds convictions of Madoff firm former employees

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] on Wednesday upheld [opinion, PDF] the convictions of five former employees of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities firm who were convicted of various fraud charges in 2014. The three-judge panel rejected [Reuters report] arguments that the conviction lacked sufficient evidence, and that aspects of the prosecution’s closing argument were racially-charged. The ex-employees were found guilty of helping Madoff, who is currently serving a 150-year prison term, conceal a Ponzi scheme that cost investors over $17 billion. These five ex-employees were among 15 who are now serving sentencing in connection with the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

Legal action has continued from the fallout of the 2008 Madoff Ponzi scheme. In August the US District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced [JURIST report] Irwin Lipkin, a former controller of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, to six months in prison for his involvement in the scheme. In June 2014 a former accountant for Madoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges connected to the Ponzi scheme. In March 2014 a federal jury in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York returned a guilty verdict [JURIST report] for five former associates of Madoff on charges they aided and profited from the Ponzi scheme. In January 2014 a federal judge approved a settlement [JURIST report] between the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and JPMorgan Chase over the bank’s failure to report internal suspicions regarding Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. In September 2013 a judge for the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York ruled [JURIST report] that victims can only recover the principal amount invested without accounting for inflation over the past five years and excluding interest. In April 2013 a judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected a suit [JURIST report] by victims against the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

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