Madoff Won’t Appeal, Stanford Will Stay Behind Bars Pending Trial

Big legal doings today in the separate cases of two former money managers accused of swindling thousands of investors out of billions of dollars.

Bernard Madoff, the one-time high-flying New York City investment advisor who pleaded guilty earlier this year and admitted he stole $65 billion from investors through a Ponzi scheme, said he will not file an appeal of the 150-year prison sentence a judge handed down last week. Instead, Madoff is resigned to serve his time, likely the rest of his life, in prison.

Meanwhile, international banking tycoon Allen Stanford has been ordered to remain locked up in a Houston-area jail cell and wait for his trial on charges he defrauded investors to the tune of $7 billion through the illegal sale of certificates of deposit in his Antigua-based Stanford International Bank. Stanford and five of his top corporate officers were indicted last month on securities fraud charges for lying to investors and promising unrealistically high rates of return on the investments.

Madoff: I Won’t Appeal

Madoff, 71, is expected to be sent to a federal prison in the Northeast to serve out his sentence. He has reportedly hired a consulting firm to seek out the safest and most appropriate prison accommodations, since his high-profile case may make him a target among his fellow prison inmates.

Madoff became the poster child for Wall Street greed in a time when the United States economy was going through its roughest waters since the Great Depression. He claimed he acted alone in taking clients’ money then not making a single trade as promised, but his accountant and brokers who are accused of funneling money and clients to Madoff’s criminal enterprise also face criminal and civil charges for their alleged roles in the scheme.

Stanford: Still a Flight Risk

Stanford surrendered to authorities in June once he was indicted. He later argued to be released on bail pending trial, but prosecutors argued his immense wealth, international real estate holdings, and influential friends made him a risk to flee the country to avoid prosecution.

Today, U.S. District Judge David Hittner, the federal court judge who ordered Stanford to stay behind bars until his trial, denied an appeal of that ruling filed by Stanford’s attorney. The judge said he remains convinced that Stanford is a “serious flight risk” if he were let out of jail.

The flamboyant billionaire has said he did nothing wrong and argued that the Securities and Exchange Commission overreacted by bringing civil charges against him. Federal prosecutors then indicted Stanford and others for their allegedly fraudulent scheme.

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