New York: The 150-year sentence handed down to Bernard Madoff closes just one chapter in the story behind one of the biggest, most shocking investment frauds in history.
Few believe that the 71-year-old former broker committed the decades-long Ponzi scheme on his own, though he has always insisted he had no help.
So far, only his long-time accountant, David Friehling, has been criminally charged in relation to the case, accused of certifying that he audited Madoff's firm and with enabling the investment fraud. He denies any wrongdoing.
Madoff's family, including his wife and two sons, remains the focus of intense suspicion by investors, though none of them has been accused of any wrongdoing. Prosecutors have vowed to continue their investigation. "We are committed to bringing additional charges against anyone else who bears criminal responsibility," Lev Dassin, acting US attorney, on Monday said.
But while investors wait to see who else may be prosecuted, they also face a long battle to recover lost funds, amid growing dissatisfaction among some investors about the approach to compensation.
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee leading the reimbursement effort, has recovered just over $1.2 billion (Dh4.4 billion) so far.
Yet he has identified about 1,341 account holders who suffered estimated losses of $13.2 billion on investments made since December 1995 - with estimated losses from the fraud expected to increase.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and trustees have begun filing lawsuits seeking to force some of Madoff's early backers to return some of the withdrawals they received from him. There are likely to be tussles over a limited amount of funds. Many questions remain about the size of the fraud itself and where the money went.
Prosecutors said about $170 billion flowed through the principal account used by Madoff to commit the fraud. Account statements sent to Madoff investors in the weeks before his arrest showed a balance of about $65 billion; Madoff initially said he committed a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.
Sharon Lissauer, a victim who addressed the court, on Monday implored Madoff to tell authorities if he has any hidden money.
"Please disclose it and give it back to the victims so that they could get a little bit of their lives back," she said.
Fresh anger is also being focused on the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the agencies that were responsible for overseeing Madoff's firm, but failed to detect the fraud for at least a decade.
Maureen Ebel, another victim who spoke on Monday, lashed out at the regulators, saying they became "tools" of Madoff. "They were willing to relax all their regulations that would have uncovered his fraud," she said.
"How the world's leading securities regulator missed it in Madoff [has] forever tarnished the agency's reputation," Jacob Frenkel, an attorney at Shulman Rogers, said.
"When ... memories of Madoff fade, there is no question that the next Madoff will be waiting in the wings. The question and test will be whether regulators will be able to prevent, or at least cut short, massive Ponzi schemes in the future."
Madoff's wife, Ruth, broke her seven-month silence for the first time on Monday: "Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused."
But that may be little consolation for victims. For now, Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor, says the symbolically charged sentence handed to Madoff would "probably have to take the place of full restitution."
Few believe that the 71-year-old former broker committed the decades-long Ponzi scheme on his own, though he has always insisted he had no help.
So far, only his long-time accountant, David Friehling, has been criminally charged in relation to the case, accused of certifying that he audited Madoff's firm and with enabling the investment fraud. He denies any wrongdoing.
Madoff's family, including his wife and two sons, remains the focus of intense suspicion by investors, though none of them has been accused of any wrongdoing. Prosecutors have vowed to continue their investigation. "We are committed to bringing additional charges against anyone else who bears criminal responsibility," Lev Dassin, acting US attorney, on Monday said.
But while investors wait to see who else may be prosecuted, they also face a long battle to recover lost funds, amid growing dissatisfaction among some investors about the approach to compensation.
Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee leading the reimbursement effort, has recovered just over $1.2 billion (Dh4.4 billion) so far.
Yet he has identified about 1,341 account holders who suffered estimated losses of $13.2 billion on investments made since December 1995 - with estimated losses from the fraud expected to increase.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and trustees have begun filing lawsuits seeking to force some of Madoff's early backers to return some of the withdrawals they received from him. There are likely to be tussles over a limited amount of funds. Many questions remain about the size of the fraud itself and where the money went.
Prosecutors said about $170 billion flowed through the principal account used by Madoff to commit the fraud. Account statements sent to Madoff investors in the weeks before his arrest showed a balance of about $65 billion; Madoff initially said he committed a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.
Sharon Lissauer, a victim who addressed the court, on Monday implored Madoff to tell authorities if he has any hidden money.
"Please disclose it and give it back to the victims so that they could get a little bit of their lives back," she said.
Fresh anger is also being focused on the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the agencies that were responsible for overseeing Madoff's firm, but failed to detect the fraud for at least a decade.
Maureen Ebel, another victim who spoke on Monday, lashed out at the regulators, saying they became "tools" of Madoff. "They were willing to relax all their regulations that would have uncovered his fraud," she said.
"How the world's leading securities regulator missed it in Madoff [has] forever tarnished the agency's reputation," Jacob Frenkel, an attorney at Shulman Rogers, said.
"When ... memories of Madoff fade, there is no question that the next Madoff will be waiting in the wings. The question and test will be whether regulators will be able to prevent, or at least cut short, massive Ponzi schemes in the future."
Madoff's wife, Ruth, broke her seven-month silence for the first time on Monday: "Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused."
But that may be little consolation for victims. For now, Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor, says the symbolically charged sentence handed to Madoff would "probably have to take the place of full restitution."
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