NEW YORK -- Federal prosecutors say a
controller who worked for Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff is set to
plead guilty in New York to conspiracy charges in history's largest
Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors said in a letter to a judge late Tuesday that Irwin Lipkin will plead guilty at a court appearance Thursday.
The
letter says the federal charges include a conspiracy to falsify records
in a fraud that started in the early 1970s and ran through December
2008. The charges carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison.
Lipkin
was a controller at Madoff's firm, which had dozens of high-profile
clients that included wealthy investors, celebrities and middle-class
retirees. many of whom lost all their money when the Madoff scheme was
uncovered. His lawyer didn't immediately return a call seeking comment
Wednesday.
Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 to
stealing billions through the fraud and says he acted alone. He's
serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, N.C.
USA Today