By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Federal authorities arrested another round of aides to Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff on charges that the two women helped carry out the multi-billion dollar scam, according to the FBI.
Joann Crupi, who dealt with Madoff's firm's daily cash balance, was arrested at her home in Westfield N.J. Thursday morning. Annette Bongiorno, Madoff's longtime office manager, was arrested at home in Boca Raton, Fla., said FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.
Charges against the women are expected to be unsealed in Manhattan federal court Thursday, the FBI said. Crupi is expected to appear in court, but Bongiorno will have her initial appearance in a Florida court, federal officials said.
The women have already been named in two sets of lawsuits, one by the Security and Exchange Commission and the other by the United States Attorney's Office demanding the women forfeit millions of dollars worth of assets allegedly linked to Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Those assets include Crupi's $2.25 million dollar home on the Jersey shore, which she reportedly purchased in cash, and Bongiorno's collection of luxury cars, including a 2005 Bentley Continental and a 2007 Mercedes Benz.
Madoff has maintained that he acted alone executing the $65 billion Ponzi scheme. However, since the fraud was uncovered in Dec. 2008, at least seven other people have pleaded guilty or been arrested in connection with the Ponzi scheme.
Madoff is currently serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in North Carolina.
