According to a Bloomberg.com article, a former banker of Bernie Madoff testified that Madoff was to receive a $200 million dollar loan from JPMorgan Chase & Co. less than a month before his arrest. Mark Doctoroff testified that Daniel Bonventre asked in November 2008 for the loan, which was double Madoff’s credit line. Doctoroff said that before the loan process was halted, he believed it would have been approved, according to the article.

Daniel Bonventre is one of five employees of Madoff who have been charged in conjunction to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which costs investors millions of dollars. Doctoroff testified, according to the Bloomberg.com article, that Bonventre assured him that Madoff’s company “had $676 million in capital and no losses.” Doctoroff was asked by Bonventre’s attorney if Madoff could have furnished Bonventre with his figures and Doctoroff stated that it was possible.

Bonventre, and the four other former employees of Madoff, are accused of assisting Madoff in covering up his fraud from customers, banks and regulators while profiting from the fraudulent activities.

According to the article, prosecutors believe that the JPMorgan Chase & Co. loan’s purpose was to secure cash when Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was unraveling.

The other defendants in the case are Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, George Perez and Jerome O’Hara. All five have pleaded not guilty.

The case is U.S. v. O’Hara, 10-cr-00228, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). Trial documents can be reviewed on the website for the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York.

If you or someone you know has lost money as a result of an investment, please contact Richard Frankowski at 205-747-1903 to discuss your potential legal remedies.