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 JoAnn Crupi, 53, was the last of five former Madoff employees to be
sentenced after a Manhattan federal jury found them guilty in March
in the first criminal trial over Madoff's decades-long fraud, which
collapsed in 2008.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ordered Crupi, who
worked in Madoff's investment advisory business for 25 years, to
forfeit a symbolic $33.9 billion jointly with other defendants who
worked at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
Swain said at sentencing that Crupi served as the "reassuring voice
of Madoff Securities," enabling the "devastating effects" of the
crime.
"She was compliant with everything and questioned little," Swain
said.
The five employees are among 15 people who have pleaded guilty or
been convicted at trial. Madoff is serving a 150-year prison term
after pleading guilty in 2009 to running a scheme that cost
investors an estimated $17 billion or more in principal.
Prosecutors said the five employees knowingly propped up Madoff's
fraud by creating fake documents and backdating trades.
Prosecutors said Crupi, who managed accounts purporting to have a
$900 million balance in 2008, helped generate fictitious trading
data presented to firm clients.
Prosecutors had sought more than 14 years in prison for Crupi, who
was convicted of securities, conspiracy and other charges with the
other four employees.
But Swain imposed a more lenient term, as she did in sentencing the
other employees, a trend a prosecutor last week said set a bad
precedent.
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Daniel Bonventre, Madoff's former back office director, was
sentenced last Monday to the longest prison term, 10 years.
Annette Bongiorno, Madoff's former secretary and later a manager,
received six years in prison, while computer programmers Jerome
O'Hara and George Perez received 2-1/2 years in prison each.
Prosecutors sought more than 20 years for Bonventre and Bongiorno
and more than eight for Perez and O'Hara.
The defendants, who are expected to appeal, have said Madoff
deceived them into believing the business was legitimate.
Crupi told Swain on Monday that she had believed Madoff, who had
discouraged her from learning about the securities industry.
"Knowing my work played a part in carrying out this horrible scheme
will cause me shame and remorse for the rest of my life," Crupi
said.
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