DiPascali to Court: Madoff Trades Were ‘All Fake . . . All Fictitious’

[WSJ_law_blog]

Yes indeed, the plot does thicken. Frank DiPascali, the former chief financial officer for Bernie Madoff, moments ago pleaded guilty to all 10 charges lodged against him.

The charges carry a potential sentence of 125 years, but DiPascali’s willingness to cooperate will likely buy him some leniency.

At the hearing today, reports the WSJ, DiPascali said he helped the disgraced financier and others “carry out a fraud that hurt thousands of people.” He said the transactions were “all fake. It was all fictitious. It was wrong, and I knew it was wrong at the time.”

In a letter to the court dated Monday, prosecutors recommended that Mr. DiPascali be released on a $2.5 million bond secured by his sister’s home.

Mr. DiPascali, who has referred to himself as the “director of options trading” at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC and was the person many investors interacted with about their accounts, is only the second person charged in the scheme other than Mr. Madoff.

Last month, David Friehling, Mr. Madoff’s outside auditor, waived indictment and pleaded not guilty to securities fraud and other criminal charges. Who’ll be the next domino to fall? Stay tuned.