The brother of Bernie Madoff, Peter Madoff, was sentenced to ten years in prison on Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor for his role in the multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme perpetrated by his brother.
The 67-year-old pled guilty in June to criminal charges including conspiracy, security fraud and falsifying financial records in the 2008 Ponzi Scandal perpetrated by the Bernie's company Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
At the sentencing on Dec. 19, Madoff told the court, "I am deeply ashamed of my conduct...I accept full responsibility for my actions," as reported by NBC News.
In addition to the ten years in prison, he is also required to forfeit $143 billion to the State, however The forfeiture, like his brother's $170.8 billion one, is symbolic.
The multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme surfaced in 2008. Many investors have lost lifetime savings, reports suggest that investors lost as much as $20 billion. Bernie, the mastermind of the scheme is currently serving a 150-year prison term.
In June brother of Bernard 'Bernie' Madoff, Peter was arrested by the F.B.I. at his home in New York. He soon entered a plea at a Manhattan federal court the same afternoon.
According to the New York Times, Peter was the "chief compliance officer" in the notorious Ponzi scheme that resulted in the conviction of Bernie in March 2009, after he was arrested in December 2008.
Bernie, 78, has repeatedly denied the involvement of his brother in the $20 billion Ponzi scheme.
The Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme has become a household name and rather representative of the 2008 economic fall-down. The fraud involved over $20 billion and more than 4,500 of the firm's clients and many more investors.
The two brothers are the only members of the Madoff family to be arrested and charged in this scheme. However, 11 other individual face similar criminal charges for their involvement in the scheme.
