Trustee: More Involved In Bernard Madoff's Ponzi Scheme

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's assets, now says many other people—not just Madoff's CFO Frank DiPascali—were involved with perpetrating the scheme. The NY Times reports, "According to a court document filed late on Friday, other longtime Madoff employees were in charge of managing 245 accounts for Madoff friends and family, and for them at least a few of the reported trades actually occurred."

Which totally makes sense, since it was a fraud of billions with thousands of victims. The court papers filed by Picard "asserted that 245 of the almost 5,000 active Madoff accounts were directly managed by other Madoff staff members...these employees created records of fictional trades that maximized the reported profit in the accounts"—and "those accounts showed bogus profits in excess of the fictional gains recorded in the DiPascali accounts, which ranged from 10 to 17 percent."

Additionally, Picard argued for his formula for victims' losses (basically the difference between what they invested and what they took out); victims claim they should be compensated for the entire "fake" amount that Madoff promised them. And speaking of DiPascali, his lawyers are trying to get him released on bail and prosecutors don't think he'll flee. The Wall Street Journal says the prosecutors' demands include "a personal recognizance bond of $10 million to be co-signed by nine people, including family members" and "the surrender of his wife's travel documents."