Experts Say Madoff Must Have Had Help With Alleged $50B Ponzi Scheme

So far, no one but Bernard Madoff has been charged in the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme he is accused of operating under the guise of a hedge fund.

But a recent claim by a trustee that the operation may have made no trades whatsoever for more than a decade, while it simultaneously sent out statements to "investors" showing rapidly changing securities positions, strongly suggests that others must have helped him with the claimed criminal enterprise, reports Bloomberg.

“You would need office and support personnel, people who actually knew what the market prices were for the securities that were being traded,” says securities lawyer Tom Dewey of New York's Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky. “You would need accountants so that the internal documents reconcile with the documents being sent to customers at least on a superficial basis.”

Another lawyer and the president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners agree with Dewey that Madoff—who reportedly confessed to his sons that he was operating a scam, but insists he acted alone—must have had help, according to the news agency.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Madoff Made No Trades for Perhaps 13 Years, Trustee Says"

New York Times: "The Talented Mr. Madoff"