Federal authorities have confirmed on Tuesday that JP Morgan, the main bank Bernie Madoff used in his Ponzi scheme, will pay $1.7 billion. That money will go back to those victimized in Madoff’s $17.3 billion scheme.
Madoff is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence for conning thousands of investors and charities. Approximately $11.9 billion out of the $17.3 million has been paid back since his 2009 fraud conviction.
According to USA Today, part of JP Morgan’s deal is they are now required to change their procedures for internal investigations as well as publicly reveal the results.
As long as JP Morgan admits their part in Madoff’s criminal efforts, they essentially agree to a deferred-prosecution agreement which will suspend an indictment for two years. The bank has been revealed as turning a blind eye to Madoff’s unthinkable scam.
A spokesman for JP Morgan said in a statement that the bank “could have done a better job pulling together various pieces of information and concerns about Madoff from different parts of the bank over time,” NY Times reports. A civil suit has revealed that they ignored an email in 2008, shortly before Madoff’s arrest, about concern over his actions.
The spokesman also noted, “We do not believe that any JPMorgan Chase employee knowingly assisted Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Madoff’s scheme was an unprecedented and widespread fraud that deceived thousands, including us, and caused many people to suffer substantial losses.”
image: Wikimedia Commons
