Madoff Employee to Plead Guilty in N.Y., U.S. Attorney Says

NEW YORK – A federal prosecutor says a former employee of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff (MAY'-dawf) will plead guilty in New York to charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with

Madoff's epic Ponzi scheme and will cooperate with the government.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (buh-RAH'-ruh) said in a letter to a judge Wednesday that David Kugel will plead guilty at a court appearance scheduled for Monday. The letter says the charges include a conspiracy that started in the early 1970s and ran through December 2008.

Kugel was a supervisory trader at Madoff's firm. A call to his attorney seeking comment has not been returned.

Madoff used money from new investors to pay returns to existing clients. He pleaded guilty to fraud and is serving a 150-year prison sentence in Butner, N.C. He claims he acted alone.