The widening investigation into Bernard Madoffâ??s $65bn "Ponzi" scheme is focusing on at least 10 other individuals and more criminal charges are likely, according to a person close to the investigation."We anticipate that it will be a long investigation and it could be months or more before we are done with this," this person said. "The expectation is that there will ultimately be at least 10 additional people who will likely be charged."
Investigators have conducted hundreds of interviews in the US and abroad and issued dozens of subpoenas as they continue their probe into Mr Madoffâ??s fraud, this person said.
Mr Madoff has always insisted that he had acted alone and was the only person responsible for the decade-long fraud.
But the Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors are continuing the probe. Lev Dassin, acting US attorney, has said that US authorities are "committed to bringing additional charges against anyone else who bears criminal responsibility. "
Few people believe that the 71-year former Nasdaq chairman carried out the scheme on his own. Mr Madoffâ??s family, including his wife and two sons, as well as employees, remain the focus of suspicion by investors. None have been accused of any wrongdoing.
So far, Mr Madoffâ??s long-time accountant, David Friehling, has been criminally charged in relation to the case. He was accused of falsely certifying that he audited Mr Madoffâ??s firm and with enabling the investment fraud. He as denied wrongdoing.
But there are still many unanswered questions about Mr Madoffâ??s decades-long scheme, including exactly how big the fraud was, and what happened to the money.
