Madoff accountant on fraud charge

David Friehling is charged with deceiving investors

US prosecutors have charged the long-term accountant of disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff with fraud.

David Friehling, 49, has also been charged with aiding and abetting fraud, and four counts of filing false audit reports. He has been released on bail.

Madoff pleaded guilty to all 11 charges against him when he appeared in a New York court last week.

He has always insisted he acted alone in masterminding an estimated $50bn (£35bn) investment fraud.

Madoff, 70, has now been remanded behind bars ahead of his sentencing in June. He could receive a sentence of up to 150 years.

He ran a Ponzi scheme, whereby early investors were paid off with the money injected by new clients.

'Falsely certified'

Mr Friehling, faces up to 105 years if found guilty of the charges he faces.

Although Mr Friehling is not charged with knowledge of the Madoff Ponzi scheme, he is charged with deceiving investors by falsely certifying that he audited the financial statements of the Madoff business Acting US district attorney Lev Dassin

Acting US district attorney Lev Dassin said that Mr Friehling's company, Friehling & Horowitz, was the accounting firm that "purportedly" audited the accounts of Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities between 1991 and 2008.

"Mr Friehling is charged with crimes that represent a serious breach of the investing public's trust," said Mr Dassin.

"Although Mr Friehling is not charged with knowledge of the Madoff Ponzi scheme, he is charged with deceiving investors by falsely certifying that he audited the financial statements of the Madoff business."

'Lied to investors'

Mr Dassin added that Mr Friehling was paid approximately between $12,000 (£8,600) to $14,500 a month by Madoff between 2004 and 2007.

Madoff has insisted he acted alone

"Simply put, Friehling failed to do his job, and lied to investors and regulators in saying that he did," he said.

US commentators have said that Mr Friehling ran his accounting business from a nondescript suburban building north of New York City.

Madoff told last week's court hearing that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed" for his actions, which he said had started in the early 1990s.

"I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done," he said.