Madoff’s brother jailed over Ponzi fraud

Peter Madoff has been sentenced to ten years in prison for doctoring financial books during his brother’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

Laura Taylor Swain, US District Court judge, sentenced Madoff on Thursday and ordered the forfeiture of $143.1b which she said would seal his “financial ruination”.

“To take his story at face value, he knew that the business operation was a little bit crooked, and he was content to go along with that,” said Swain.

Madoff pleaded guilty in June to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud while serving as the chief compliance officer and senior managing director at his brother’s firm.

He previously denied knowledge of the Ponzi scheme until shortly before his brother was arrested, accepted “full responsibility” for his actions at the hearing.

“I am deeply ashamed of my conduct,” said Madoff.

He is also accused of transferring millions of dollars to family members and evaded tax.

Lawyers have labelled him as a “gatekeeper” who enabled the fraud.

His brother, Bernard Madoff was sentenced to a 150-year jail term in 2009 for running a $65b fraud scheme that cost investors almost $20b.