Yesterday, Madoff’s auditor was arrested for falsely stating that the firm had audited the financial statements. No surprise that such a small firm could be auditing a supposedly large investment company like Madoff Investments.
Just in time, the AICPA (that’s the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) has expelled Friehling from its membership following an ethics investigation.
“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 Mr. Madoff’s business,” said acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin.
Like his client, Mr. Madoff, Mr. Friehling was released on bail. He apparently post a $2.5 million bail bond and walked free, for now.
See:
- Statement of AICPA about Friehling (.pdf)
- Accountant for Madoff Is Arrested and Charged With Securities Fraud By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and DIANA B. HENRIQUES for the NY Times
- Accountant Arrested for Sham Audits By Amir Efrati for the Wall Street Journal
- Complaint filed in US v. Friehling – hosted on JD Supra
- SEC Complaint against Friehling – hosted on JD Supra