Mar 13, 2009 6:46 am US/Eastern
Next In Government's Crosshairs: Madoff Family
Legal Expert: There Is No Way Bernie Acted Alone, So Expect Investigators To Target Those Closest To Him
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Financier Bernard Madoff arrives at Manhattan Federal court on March 12, 2009, in New York City.
Stan Honda/Getty Images
-
-
Bernard Madoff, center, enters a courthouse in lower Manhattan on March 12, 2009.
CBS
The focus of the Madoff investigation now moves on to his family and high level employees.
Did Bernard Madoff act alone, or was it a family affair?
One of the highest securities fraud case ever now goes far beyond Bernard Madoff. Federal investigators' focus will shift to the family. High on the list are Madoff's sons, Andrew and Mark, who directed trading activities, and Madoff's brother, Peter, the firm's chief compliance officer. None has been charged with any wrongdoing.
Defense attorney Susan Brune expects the investigation will go into high gear.
"This is the highest profile case in nation, surely, so can't imagine this is the last we hear," Brune said. "Clearly the government spent time, a fair amount of time interviewing employees involved with sending out false statements to investors.
"A lot we don't know since the investigation goes on in private in a grand jury and interviews by prosecutors, but I think quite clearly there is more to come."
But when asked, could Bernard Madoff pull this scheme off alone, this legal expert didn't mince words.
"Completely impossible," Brune said.
All eyes are also on Bernard Madoff's wife of 49 years, Ruth, who also has not been charged in the case.
In court papers she claims nearly $70 million in assets are separate from her husband's, including that $7 million Upper East Side penthouse and a $9 million mansion in Palm Beach, Fla.
Investigators want to know about the $10 million Ruth Madoff withdrew from a brokerage account the day before her husband was arrested last December.
"Clearly the government is interested in the family," Brune said. "Bernie Madoff is not going to [talk about them]. It's not at all clear if that he being sent to prison is to give him time to cooperate. I think he's being sent to prison because he's guilty."
Legal experts say even if Ruth Madoff is never charged with a crime, she may have trouble holding on to her fortune because her assets could be claimed by the thousands of victims of her husband's fraud.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments