Madoff aide reports to Florida jail

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A longtime aide of convicted Ponzi mastermind Bernard Madoff reported to a jail in Florida after a federal judge in New York revoked her bail.

Federal prosecutors in New York accused Annette Bongiorno, 62, of playing a key role in duping investors and regulators and helping to perpetrate Madoff's fraud. Bongiorno, who denies the allegations, surrendered to U.S. marshals Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Maurice Sercarz, one of Bongiorno's lawyers, said the defense team would file an appeal seeking their client's release with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We're just going to keep working until we get her out," Sercarz said.

Bongiorno, who was on home incarceration and subject to electronic monitoring in Florida, had difficulty meeting the conditions of a $5 million bail set last month. Prosecutors also raised concerns recently about her access to $2.4 million in "liquid assets," which they want to seize.

Madoff pleaded guilty to a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme in March 2009 and is serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison in North Carolina.