Madoff Sent To North Carolina Prison

Date: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Author: FINalternatives.com

Bernard Madoff’s 150 years in the clink just got a little tougher.

The convicted hedge fund fraudster, who admitted to running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme earlier this year, was moved from his Manhattan jail cell to a federal prison in Butner, N.C.

Prisoner 61727-054 was briefly moved to a medium-security facility in Atlanta where, it happens, Charles Ponzi served time before he was caught pioneering the scam that brought down Madoff. But it appears his next stop will not be the one he sought.

Madoff had asked to be sent to a medium-security prison in Otisville, N.Y., just 75 miles northwest of New York City, to be closer to his family. Otisville also has special facilities for Jewish prisoners.

Madoff had been held at a maximum-security lockup in lower Manhattan since he entered his guilty plea to securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, false statements, perjury, false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, theft from an employee benefit plan and three counts of money laundering charges on March 12. His lawyer has said he does not plan to appeal his sentence.

On the bright side, the Bureau of Prisons is already planning an early release for the biggest financial scam artist in history. Its Web site projects his release date as Nov. 14, 2139, only 130 years and change from now. Madoff will be 201 years young if he makes it that far.