Bernard Madoff's auditor of his broker-dealer firm has today been charged with fraud on the grounds of saying it had conducted legitimate audits, which turned out to be untrue. The US regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission, has alleged that from 1991 to 2008, certified public accountant David Friehling and his firm, Friehling & Horowitz, claimed to audit financial statements and disclosures of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities. Madoff himself has been charged with securities fraud for conducting a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme on advisory and brokerage customers of his firm. The complaint by the SEC alleges that Friehling enabled the Ponzi scheme to go ahead, by falsely stating in annual audit reports that F&H audited BMIS financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. It is alleged by the SEC that Friehling pretended to conduct audit procedures of certain accounts to make it look as though he was conducting an audit, and then failed to file his audit and financial statements under GAAS. SEC's new chairman Mary Schapiro said she would ensure the SEC will 'hold accountable all those who helped to facilitate this massive fraud'. The investigation continues.