Econintersect: The actions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the 
Southern District of New York and the SEC (Securities and exchange Commission) have been concluded with (1) a guilty plea from former BMIS (Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities) controller Enrica Cotellessa-Pitz for falsifying records and (2) a consent to the entry of a partial judgment in the SEC civil case against her. As part of her guilty plea, Cotellessa-Pitz agreed to cooperate with the government’s probe of the Madoff fraud, which took tens of billions of dollars from investors before collapsing in the wake of the 2008 credit crisis.
From Securities Technology Monitor:
According to the Attorney General’s office, Cotellessa-Pitz was employed at BLMIS from 1978 through December 11, 2008 and become controller in 1998.
The prosecutor’s office said Cotellessa-Pitz helped create “false and misleading entries” in Madoff account records and to disguise transfers of funds.
“The transfers made the Market Making and Proprietary Trading operations of BLMIS appear profitable when they were not,’’ Bharara’s office said.
In addition, Cotellessa-Pitzalso also allegedly helped to create false and fraudulent documents in connection with tax audits of Madoff.
Cotellessa-Pitz, 53, faces a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison.
Cotellessa-Pitz is also subject to mandatory restitution and criminal forfeiture and faces criminal fines up to twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offense.
Judge Swain set a sentencing date for June 22, 2012.
The SEC has charged Cotellessa-Pitz with falsifying accounting records to show fictitious income for BMIS advisory service investments, investments which themselves were fictitious. She is also charged with preparing false documents and filing false statements with the SEC.
Other SEC charges awaiting resolution involve longtime Bernie Madoff employees David Kugel, Annette Bongiorno, JoAnn Crupi and David Bonventre. Krugel has been charged with creating fake trades; Bongiormo and Crupi for creating false account statements; and Bonventre for falsifying books and records and hiding and obfuscating the Madoff operation.
Source: Securities Technology Monitor
