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Madoff Waives Indictment; Guilty Plea Up Next?
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2009
Modified Mar 6, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 6, 2009
Modified Mar 6, 2009
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Fraudulent investor Bernard Madoff appears to be ready to enter a guilty plea, as he has just waived his indictment (meaning he's waiving the right to have a grand jury to review the charges). The Law Blog reports, "The waiver could presage a plea deal for Madoff. Often, prior to a plea, a defendant will waive his or her right to a grand-jury indictment. In such a case, the prosecutors’ 'charging document' — the document which lays out the case against the defendant — is called an 'information.'" (This morning, the U.S. Attorney's Office said it would file an "information".)
Newsday reports that speculation about a plea deal arose "when a special court hearing about a potential conflict of interest with his lawyer was quickly postponed, just hours after federal prosecutors in Manhattan had requested it." (The conflicts are that Madoff's lawyer Ira Sorkin's parents invested in Madoff's fake fund and that Sorkin represented accountants accused of setting up a feeder fund to Madoff.)
It's unclear when the information will be filed and when the guilty plea will be entered. Right now, there are doubts about whether Madoff's far-reaching fraud was the estimated $50 billion—the Associated Press reports "some believe it's less than $20 billion." SIPC president Stephen Harbeck said he couldn't venture a guess, but added, "I think it's somewhat misleading to say this was a $50 billion scheme because I believe that includes the fictitious profits. If that is the case, and I believe it to be the case, then the real dollars lost would be considerably lower."
Update: The Law Blog has new details: "According to the WSJ’s Amir Efrati, citing a person familiar with the matter, no plea agreement is expected soon between prosecutors and Madoff. At a hearing next Thursday, the government is expected to file the information, which will lay out allegations against Mr. Madoff and list numerous criminal charges against him. At that point, Madoff may say that he plans to plead guilty to the charges or that he would like to go to trial."
On the topic of whether Madoff's wife Ruth can keep nearly $70 million in assets and property, Wayne State law professor Peter Henning writes on the Dealbook that though the items are in Ruth Madoff's name, "Simply putting assets into another person’s name, or giving them as a gift, does not necessarily shield them when they are the proceeds of criminal activity." Thought so!
Tagged
Bernard Madoff
guilty plea
indictment
ponzi scheme
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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