Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff arrested over Ponzi Scheme

Well known Wall Street trader and former chairman on the NASDAQ exchange Bernard Madoff has been arrested and charged with allegedly running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.

US Federal prosecutors accuse Madoff of telling senior employees of his advisory firm that “it’s all just one big lie” and that it was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme,” according to a criminal complaint against him.

“Madoff stated that the business was insolvent, and that it had been for years. Madoff also stated that he estimated the losses from this fraud to be at least approximately $50 billion,” said Lev Dassin, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Madoff has been charged with a single count of securities fraud and faces up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5 million.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against Madoff.