Michael De Vita, 62, of Chalfont, Bucks County is among thousands of investors who lost billions in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. De Vita and his 84-year-old mother Emma lost most of their life savings, which was invested in retirement funds with Madoff. De Vita has become one of the most vocal victims of the scheme. This week, on the four-year anniversary of Madoff’s arrest, he released his Amazon book “65 billion reasons why you cannot trust Wall Street.” De Vita, who also teaches a class on the Madoff saga at Delaware Valley College, is the subject of this week’s Q&A. More in the Morning Call [...]

NEW YORK — The brother of imprisoned Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff will be left penniless and spend his remaining days as a “jobless pariah” in or out of prison, a defense lawyer said in court papers filed publically Monday. Attorney John Wing made the observations in a sentencing memorandum released three days before Peter Madoff is to be sentenced in Manhattan for his role in a fraud that cheated thousands of people out of $20 billion. Peter Madoff had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and falsifying books and records of an investment adviser. More in the Wall Street Journal [...]

Bernard Madoff’s younger brother Peter Madoff told a judge he was a victim of the multibillion- dollar fraud at their former firm and asked to be allowed to attend his granddaughter’s bat mitzvah in January before he goes to prison. Peter Madoff, 67, who worked for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC four decades, pleaded guilty in June to helping his brother pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Peter Madoff agreed not to seek less than the maximum 10-year prison term allowed by law and to forfeit his assets up to $143 billion. He asked the court to let him attend the bat mitzvah before his prison term begins. “In some respects this case constitutes a personal tragedy for an otherwise decent and compassionate man,” Peter Madoff’s lawyer, John R. Wing, said in a letter to the sentencing judge, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan. “Although a clear beneficiary of his older brother’s largess, he was also a victim of his brother’s Ponzi scheme.” More on Bloomberg [...]

Bernard Madoff’s brother, Peter Madoff, should get a 10-year prison term for his role in perpetuating the multibillion-dollar fraud, US prosecutors said. Peter Madoff pleaded guilty in June in federal court in Manhattan to helping his brother pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in US history, though Peter denied knowing the business was a sham until the firm collapsed. As part of his plea agreement, Madoff agreed not to seek a sentence other than the 10-year term, prosecutors said. “The government submits that a sentence of 10 years is reasonable and appropriate in this case,” assistant US attorneys Lisa Baroni and Julian Moore said yesterday in a memo to the judge who will sentence Madoff. More in the Business Standard [...]

Prosecutors in New York asked a federal judge to sentence Bernard Madoff’s younger brother to 10 years in prison for the role he played in the multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, according to court papers filed Thursday. Peter Madoff pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in June to criminal charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud and making false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of Peter Madoff’s June plea deal, he agreed not to seek a sentence other than 10 years, according to the filing. More on Reuters [...]