Madoff behind bars, but Ponzi scheme probe grinds forward

NEW YORK – Bernard Madoff, even as he faces the prospect of dying behind bars for his epic swindle, has never wavered on one point: He acted alone.

Federal investigators haven’t budged either: They don’t believe him.

The day after Madoff was given a 150-year prison term, a person close to the investigation said Tuesday the sentencing marked “the end of the beginning” of a far-reaching investigation expected to answer lingering questions about how the disgraced financier pulled off perhaps the largest financial fraud history – and who helped him.

The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, told The Associated Press on Monday prosecutors expect to charge at least 10 more people in connection with the scheme. The person said Tuesday that no arrests were imminent.

The U.S. attorney’s office refused to comment on the status of the investigation or potential suspects.

Defense attorney Ira Sorkin said Tuesday that Madoff likely would be transferred from a federal jail in Manhattan to an unspecified prison in the next month. His client, he added, was “resigned to his fate.”

Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to charges that his secretive investment advisory business was a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out thousands of investors and ruined charities.