Madoff, SEC enter into an agreement

Bernard Madoff began to face the music today. The embattled money manager entered into an agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission that could eventually make him pay a civil fine and return money raised from investors, according to an Associated Press report. The civil case is distinct from the criminal case against Mr. Madoff. In that case, he is expected to enter into a deal with prosecutors in which he will plead guilty in exchange for some form of leniency, the AP said. In the civil case, Mr. Madoff's assets will be frozen permanently under a partial judgment that needs to be approved by Judge Louis L. Stanton, a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, the report stated. Mr. Madoff agreed to the partial judgment without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations in its complaint, filed Dec. 11. However, the agreement says he cannot challenge the "facts" of the complaint for the purposes of establishing his obligation to pay fines and restitution, which will be specified later, the report stated. Mr. Madoff is accused of defrauding investors of approximately $50 billion in what could be the largest Ponzi scheme in history. He was arrested Dec. 11 after allegedly confessing to his sons that he had stolen from investors for years.