Friday, Mar. 12, 2010

Mark and Andrew Madoff

Few characters in the sordid cast of the Madoff drama continue to inspire as much speculation as his sons, Mark and Andrew. They were the ones who first reported papa Bernie to the feds in December 2008, after he confessed that his investment advisory business was a fraud — causing the FBI to arrest him the following day. Their lawyer issued a statement saying that the brothers — who helped run their dad's investment firm's market-making division (separate from the investment arm where the fraud went down) — were "shocked" by their father's crimes. Investigators have turned up no evidence suggesting they were in on the gig. But incredulous investors have raised doubt that the brothers could have worked for their father for years without sniffing out any wrongdoing.

It was reported in February that federal prosecutors in Manhattan were pursuing criminal tax-fraud cases against the duo. According to a statement released at the time by their lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum, both men "continue to cooperate fully with the authorities in their ongoing investigations."