Madoff: I thought I had been caught on several occasions
BERNARD Madoff, who is serving 150 years in prison for his $65bn (£40bn) Ponzi fraud, thought he had been rumbled several times, he said in an interview from behind bars.
Speaking to lawyers representing a group of victims who are suing him, Madoff said he was surprised that his huge fraud – which took place for decades – had not been detected earlier. “There were several times that I met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and thought ‘they got me’,” he said.
He expressed remorse for the crimes to San Francisco attorneys Joseph Cotchett and Nancy Fineman, at the North Carolina prison where he was taken two weeks ago.
Cotchett and Fineman, lawyers for around 12 Madoff victims, described it as an “extraordinary visit”.
“He was very candid, very open, and answered every one of our questions,” Cotchett said.
He was “very remorseful”, looked healthy and appeared to be working out, he added.
The (SEC) is now conducting an in-depth review of how it missed the fraud, having drawn intense criticism for failing to spot it. The results are expected to be released soon.