Untangling Madoff Case Baffles Feds

Investigators struggle with mounds of documents

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 9, 2009 3:37 PM CST

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Untangling Madoff Case Baffles Feds — Prosecutors on Monday said Bernard Madoff violated bail conditions by mailing about $1 million worth of jewelry and other assets to relatives and should be jailed without bail. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Federal investigators are struggling to piece together Bernie Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme almost a month after his arrest for securities fraud, Bloomberg reports. The FBI, SEC, and Manhattan US attorney are amassing piles of data, including transaction records and investors’ monthly statements, to determine who else may have been involved in the $50 billion fraud.

Another productive source of info is an official website for Madoff’s victims. “This is like an explosion that’s ripped a hole which the investigators are pouring through, and it probably just doesn’t relate to Madoff alone,” said a former prosecutor, guessing the probe could take months. The feds must "catch whatever funds they can in a very fast-moving system and get seizure orders on those funds in place," he said.
(More Bernard Madoff stories.)

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