Investigators are looking for other participants in the Madoff investment scandal besides Bernard Madoff who were involved in the Madoff investment scheme, despite Madoff's assertion that he alone was responsible for the large-scale operation. Harry Sussman, an attorney representing several clients of the firm, stated that "someone had to create the appearance that there were returns," and further suggested that there must have been a team buying and selling stocks, forging books, and filing reports. James Ratley, president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners said, “In order for him to have done this by himself, he would have had to have been at work night and day, no vacation and no time off. He would have had to nurture the Ponzi scheme daily. What happened when he was gone? Who handled it when somebody called in while he was on vacation and said, ‘I need access to money’?”
“Simply from an administrative perspective, the act of putting together the various account statements, which did show trading activity, has to involve a number of people. ... You would need office and support personnel, people who actually knew what the market prices were for the securities that were being traded. You would need accountants so that the internal documents reconcile with the documents being sent to customers at least on a superficial basis,” said Tom Dewey, a securities lawyer.
Anthony Barkow, a former federal prosecutor in New York City who is currently a partner at Jenner & Block LLP was quoted as saying “Bernie Madoff claiming that he acted alone was ridiculous. His surrender was clearly a strategy to try to insulate his family and co- conspirators and made it more difficult for the government to make the case, so it’s taken time but they’ve shown that they’re clearly working on it.”
Stanley Chais, a philanthropist who invested heavily with Mr. Madoff, and Carl J. Shapiro, one of the money manager's oldest friends, are among at least eight Madoff investors and associates being scrutinized by the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan. Prosecutors are continuing to probe Madoff family members and employees. Others include: Frank Avellino, a Florida accountant who ran an investment fund that invested client money; Noel Levine, a real-estate investor who works out of a two-room office on the 17th floor, next door to Madoff's fraudulent investment operation, and Palm Beach investor Robert Jaffe, a son-in-law of Mr. Shapiro who referred potential investors to Madoff.