Madoff sons claim: Were victims too

Emily Ford & , : {}

The sons of Bernard Madoff, who has been locked up for 150 years for handling a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, explain that they are victims of their father"s crimes, according to justice writings filed in a legal box opposite the fraudsters relatives.

Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff pronounced that by going to the authorities shortly after their father told them that he had been using a rascal intrigue for decades, they prevented $170 million (111.5 million) in customers" income from being lost, according to justice writings seen by The Wall Street Journal.

The brothers say that they knew zero of the rascal as they usually worked in the bona fide trade arm of Madoff"s commercial operation in New York and that the preference to spin their father in to the authorities proves their innocence.

A counsel for Peter Madoff, Mr Madoff"s brother, described the box as a "sensationalistic" try to apply to the family members in Mr Madoff"s crimes and "create guilt by association".

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Irving Picard, the keeper allocated by the courts to redeem income for the defrauded victims, has filed a $198.7 million legal box opposite the dual sons, together with Mr Madoff"s hermit Peter and his niece Shana, accusing the family of "unjust enrichment".

"Their explanation of their father"s crimes led to the fall of the essential and concededly bona fide market-making and trade businesses that they had outlayed their veteran lives building," The Wall Street Journal reported Martin Flumenbaum, the brothers" lawyer, as saying.

"For this, between most alternative reasons, they arrange between the countless victims of their father"s distressing crimes."

The Madoff sons pronounced that the keeper is foul perplexing to scratch behind salaries and bonuses that were legitimately earned.

They point out that the exclusive trade and market-making commercial operation they ran was sole for $25 million when Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities (BMIS) was liquidated.

Last month, Daniel Bonaventre, Madoff"s former executive of operations, was charged with assisting the charlatan lift out his fraud. Mr Bonaventre was arrested on counts of bonds fraud, formulating fake books and attorney play annals and creation fake filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr Bonaventre, who worked at BMIS from 1968 until Madoffs detain in Dec 2008 oversaw BMISs inner accounting documents, bank accounts and clearing of trades.

In Dec last year, Madoff, 71 was changed to the low-security healing wing of the North Carolina jail where he is portion his sentence. The Bureau of Prisons denied reports progressing this year that Mr Madoff had been diagnosed with cancer.

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