Bernard Madoff's former accountant Paul Konigsberg is expected to plead guilty to charges in connection with the £65bn Ponzi scheme, according to proceedings listed in a court in New York.
Assistant US attorney Matthew Schwartz said Konigsberg will enter the guilty plea before US district judge Laura Taylor Swain next week under a cooperation agreement with the government.
Konigsberg, a former senior tax partner at Konigsberg Wolf & Co, was charged in September 2013 with two counts of conspiracy and three counts of falsifying records and statements.
US prosecutors claim that Konigsberg was part of the conspiracy from 1992 until Madoff’s Ponzi scheme fell apart with his December 2008 confession and arrest. Konigsberg fabricated records to cover up fraudulent transactions by Madoff, and his actions include falsifying records of a broker-dealer, fabricating records of an investment adviser and falsifying statements about employee-benefit plans. He arranged for customers to receive ‘amended’ account statements that include fake trading records.
Madoff pleaded guilty in 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison for controlling the biggest Ponzi scheme in history. His fraud cost investors more than $17bn in lost principal, according to the government. Konigsberg, who was allowed to remain free on $2m bail, claimed he was a victim.
Konigsberg will be the 15th defendant to plead guilty or be convicted at a trial linked to the Ponzi scam.
Bernard Madoff's brother Peter Madoff pleaded guilty in 2012 to his part in the fraud and was sentenced to 10 years in jail.
In March, five former Madoff aides were found guilty of securities fraud and conspiracy to defraud clients.
