On Thursday, the SEC charged the former director of operations for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Daniel Bonventre, with falsifying accounting records and siphoning investor funds. The DOJ also filed similar criminal charges against Bonventre.
In the civil complaint, the SEC alleges that Bonventre disguised Madoff’s multi-billion dollar fraud by misusing and improperly recording investor money to create the appearance of legitimate income. The SEC claims that Bonventre helped Madoff and others lie to investors and regulators when BMIS came under review. According to the SEC, Bonventre and others made serial misrepresentations to the SEC by manufacturing reams of false reports and data. The SEC also alleges that Bonventre directed fake backdated trades from investors into his personal account at BMSI. As a result, he made an estimated $1.9 million in illicit profits.
In the criminal complaint, Bonventre was charged with fraud and conspiracy. Specifically, he was charged with doctoring records by creating a fictional ledger to cover up Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, according to The New York Times.
It was interesting to see that added charges for filing false income tax returns. Same way they got Capone.