(JTA) – Peter Madoff pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the Ponzi scheme operated by his older brother Bernard Madoff.
Peter Madoff, 66, chief compliance officer for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities firm, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy and falsifying records. He accepted a 10-year prison term and agreed to forfeit all of his assets, according to reports. He had surrendered himself earlier in the day at his lawyer’s office in midtown Manhattan.
Madoff”s voice broke at times as he offered an apology in court.
"I want to apologize to anyone who was harmed and to my family," Madoff said, who offered that he was "shocked" when his brother revealed that the securities firm had been a massive hoax.
Peter Madoff is the eighth person to plead guilty to criminal charges in the government’s investigation into the collapse of the securities firm since December 2008. Numerous Jewish foundations and individuals had invested with the firm. Among the victims were Hadassah, the American Jewish Congress and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel.
Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison for crimes associated with the Ponzi scheme.
Earlier this week, former Madoff money manager J. Ezra Merkin agreed to turn over $405 million to duped investors in the scheme. That was the first settlement resulting from a government action against Merkin.
