A pair of computer programmers has been arrested in the US by the FBI for allegedly falsifying bank accounts for conman Bernard Madoff.
The two programmers, Jerome O’Hara and George Perez, worked for Madoff between 1990-91, and were arrested last Friday. The federal prosecutor’s office said they will be charged with conspiracy and falsifying accounts.
“Jerome O’Hara and George Perez allegedly helped construct Bernie Madoff’s house of cards,” lawyer Preet Bharar said in a statement.
The pair allegedly ran programs on a server that generated false accounts and records, and were intensive enough to pass checks between 2004-08 undertaken by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Madoff allegedly instructed his assistants to pay O’Hara and Perez any amount to keep them on board with the scandal.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
