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It's been a busy week for Wall Street's biggest crooks. Self-confessed Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, who will be sentenced on Monday, asked for leniency; after all, he's an old man. Accused swindler R. Allen Stanford was indicted on 21 counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice. And California business man Danny Pang was found to have pulled out at least $83 million from his investment firm before it was seized. For Madoff it will be high drama in the Manhattan courtroom on Monday. Ira Sorkin, Madoff's defense lawyer, wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan that a 12-year prison term would be sufficient to address the issue of deterrence and to promote respect for the law. Madoff, 71, who pleaded guilty in March to running a $65 billion fraud, faces as much as 150 years in prison for his crimes. The sentencing is expected to draw many victims, including a few who will describe their financial ruin to the judge. Others are planning a rally to publicize their plight. Meanwhile, high-flying billionaire and sports promoter Stanford, who's been in federal custody since June 18, spent another night in a Texas jail after a judge stayed her decision to grant him bail of $500,000. U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy had approved a plan to release Stanford on $500,000 bond, including a $100,000 cash deposit put up by friends and family. One of those friends is professional golfer Vijay Singh. The Fijian golf star was one of three people who offered to sign for a portion of the financier's bail, his attorney said in court in Houston on Thursday, according to CNBC's Scott Cohn. Cohn said Singh would have been on the hook for $500,000 if Stanford fled, but he was not allowed to help with bail because he is not a U.S. citizen. Under the terms set by the court, Stanford must live in Houston, submit to electronic monitoring and surrender his Antiguan passport. But Stacy stayed the issuance of Stanford's bond after the U.S. government objected on the grounds that Stanford is a flight risk. "This defendant has motive, opportunity and means to flee," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Pelletier. Evidence at the hearing showed Stanford may have access to millions of dollars removed from a secret Swiss bank account late last year and has few real ties to Texas, the prosecutors said. "If a jury convicts him, he's going to jail for the rest of his natural life," the prosecutor said. Stanford entered a plea of "not guilty." As for Pang, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the accused fraudster was able to extract $83 million from his investment firm before it was seized in April. That information, among other things, was revealed after Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, fought a month-long legal battle to reverse a prior order sealing a range of filings in the case. Additionally the report notes that the court-appointed temporary receiver for Pang's former company, Private Equity Management Group Inc., also revised his estimate of potential losses by investors, saying they could range from $287 million to $654 million. The latter figure would represent a loss of nearly 80% of the $823 million still owed to investors. "Pang's attorneys called the allegation that he was paid $83 million 'demonstrably false.' They said about one-fourth of the money eventually went to other PEMGroup employees," the WSJ wrote. They also said the fees paid to Pang were proper and were disclosed to the banks that invested in PEMGroup. In their filing, the lawyers said the receiver included "inflammatory and unsupported allegations" in his filing, and cited the payment of $1.7 million to an alleged bookie as an example. The FBI arrested Pang in April and charged him with a money-laundering-related criminal offense. He hasn't entered a plea in that matter and is out on bail, confined to his home in Newport Beach, Calif., and wearing one of those fashionable electronic monitoring devices. - Donna Block See Ponzi schemes, fraud and other misdeeds DealwatchSee Stanford story from CNBC
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