Madoff Denied Bail, Will Remain Jailed Pending Sentencing

Disgraced Wall Street financial adviser Bernard Madoff will not be released on bail pending sentencing after pleading guilty to a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, a federal appeals court panel has ruled.

Attorneys for Madoff, who was jailed last week after pleading guilty to 11 counts of securities fraud, had asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York to release the jailed financier on $10 million bail pending his sentencing hearing, set for June 16. Madoff faces up to 150 years in federal prison when he is sentenced.

Madoff, 70, had been free since his arrest in December 2008, living in a $7 million New York City penthouse apartment. Defense attorneys had argued for his release from jail on bail pending sentencing by saying Madoff is not a risk to flee the country or commit additional crimes if freed.

Federal prosecutors had opposed the request and said Madoff has extensive real estate holdings, including outside the United States, where he could go to avoid prosecution. Many of Madoff’s former clients also appeared at a recent court hearing to object to his release on bail and applauded when a judge ordered him jailed pending sentencing.

In a ruling issued March 20, 2009, a majority of the three-judge panel sided with prosecutors and the clients and denied Madoff’s bail request.

Madoff admitted ripping of thousands of investors in his New York City-based investment firm by pocketing billions of dollars entrusted to him and failing to buy a single security for clients. In a Ponzi scheme, early investors are paid profits from proceeds paid by later investors to the scheme.

Madoff’s scam is believed to be the largest financial swindle in Wall Street history. His accountant was arrested this week on charges he lied about having done independent audits of Madoff’s firms.

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