Madoff Was About to Send $173M to Friends & Family, Prosecutors Contend

Upping the ante in an ongoing argument about whether bail should be revoked for Bernard Madoff, a prosecutor contends in a letter sent to federal court today that investigators found $173 million in checks in his desk that he was about to send to friends, family and employees.

The accused architect of a record-breaking alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme operated under the guise of a hedge fund, Madoff, 70, is now free on $10 million bond in a federal securities fraud case, but cannot leave his upscale Upper East Side home. On Monday, Manhattan prosecutors asked that his bond be revoked because he allegedly violated an asset freeze by sending valuable jewelry to family members, Bloomberg recounts.

Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, says Madoff didn't realize the freeze, which was obtained in civil Securities and Exchange Commission litigation, applied to jewelry and was merely reaching sending sentimental gifts to reach out to family, the news agency says.

In the letter to U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis today, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt says it wasn't just jewelry that Madoff allegedly was trying to transfer to others, citing the $173 million in checks he said investigators found in Madoff's desk after he was arrested, Bloomberg reports.

“The only thing that prevented the defendant from executing his plan to dissipate those assets was his arrest by the FBI on Dec. 11,” Litt writes.

Sorkin argues that additional steps, such as escrowing Madoff's jewelry and searching his mail, could be taken to enforce the asset freeze, rather than revoking his bail.

A ruling from Ellis on the bond revocation request is expected by Monday. A hearing also is scheduled Monday, during which prosecutors must present some of their evidence against Madoff.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Latest Madoff Issues: Jewelry ‘Gifts’ Rile Feds, Judge OKs 3rd-Party Asset Freeze"

Bloomberg: "Madoff’s U.K. Operations Investigated by Prosecutors"

San Francisco Chronicle: "Can Madoff payouts break the insurance bank?"