Daniel Marino, Samuel Israel

The former finance chief of bankrupt hedge fund company Bayou Management was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison, among the harshest sentences meted out in the US for a white-collar crime, for his part in defrauding investors of more than $400m.<br />The judge in Manhattan Federal Court said that in determining the sentence, she considered the size of the fraud and the role played by former finance officer Daniel Marino, who she described as the "linchpin'' of the scheme.<br />Few corporate executives have been sentenced to 20 years or more in prison in recent times. Those that have include former WorldCom chairman Bernard Ebbers, jailed for 25 years for fraud, and former Enron chief executive officer Jeffrey Skilling, who was given a 24-year term.<br />Mr Marino and Samuel Israel, former chief executive of the Stamford, Connecticut, based hedge fund company pleaded guilty in September 2005 to conspiracy, investment adviser fraud and other charges connected with a scheme to defraud investors through the improper inflation of the value of Bayou's funds. They also created a fake accounting firm, Richmond-Fairfield Associates, which they used to audit Bayou's annual financial statements.<br />Mr Israel is awaiting sentencing. James Marquez, co-founder of several of Bayou's hedge funds, was sentenced to 51 months in prison last week after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge.<br />The maximum term allowable under the charges against Mr Marino, 48, was 50 years.<br />Mr Marino, 48 had sought leniency due to his co-operation with the investigation but was ordered to be imprisoned immediately.<br />Professor John Coffee, of Columbia University law school, said the sentence was harsh for a first-time criminal who had not committed a violent crime, but added that the large amount of money stolen made it understandable.<br />Colleen McMahon, US district judge, yesterday told Mr Marino that he was "as much a career criminal as any mobster or any drug kingpin".<br />She said she would order Mr Marino to pay restitution in the "nine figures'', adding she would set the amount within 90 days.<br />Mr Marino's lawyers said he would appeal against the sentence.<br />The fraud at Bayou came to light when an investor, Silver Creek Capital Management, sought to withdraw $53m from the hedge fund in August 2005.<br />Mr Israel told Mr Marino to write a cheque, even though Bayou did not have sufficient funds.

Daniel Marino, Samuel Israel

The former finance chief of bankrupt hedge fund company Bayou Management was yesterday sentenced to 20 years in prison, among the harshest s...

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