Five former employees of Bernie Madoff were convicted on conspiracy and fraud charges in the first trial resulting from the 2008 exposure of a massive ponzi scheme run by Madoff, who is currently serving 150 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the ex-employees aided Madoff in his decades-long scheme, spreading lies that tricked investors into giving up nearly $20 billion while keeping the money for themselves, Fox News reported.
The trial, which began six months ago, was one of the longest white-collar crimes cases to be tried in a Manhattan federal court, USA Today reported. It took the jury 18 hours to come back with the verdict, calling out "guilty" 59 times for each charge against each ex-employee.
Defense attorneys argued the employees did not know what Madoff was really doing and that their former boss tricked them during the scheme that began in the '70s and ended in December 2008.
One defendant, Madoff's former executive assistant Annette Bongiorno, 65, "saw $50 million of what she thought was her own money but was really Bernie Madoff's monopoly money go up in smoke," defense attorney Ronald Ripoelle said, Fox News reported. "Ms. Bongiorno relied on Mr. Madoff, and she was fooled by him."
Another defendant, 50-year-old computer programmer Jerome O'Hara, was "used, abused, manipulated, lied to, snookered and bamboozled," attorney Gordon Mehler said, Fox News reported.
But nearly 40 witnesses testified against the defendants, claiming Madoff did not act alone. Evidence showed the defendants falsified financial trade records and changed the dates, creating a string of constantly stable investment returns, USA Today reported.
The defendants pocketed the money, collected from charities, celebrities, financial institutions and regular investors. Sores of Madoff's victims lost their finances, even their life savings, once the scheme was exposed. One of Madoff's son's later committed suicide.
The three other defendants are JoAnn Crupi, 52, who managed the bank account; computer programmer George Perez, 48; and Daniel Bonventre, 67, Madoff's former director of operations, according to USA Today.
