BUSINESS BRIEFING / COURTS : 2 arrested in Madoff fraud case

Two computer programmers who worked in the New York offices where Bernard L. Madoff operated a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme were arrested by federal agents on suspicion of helping to hide the fraud for more than 15 years.

Jerome O’Hara and George Perez designed computer codes and random algorithms that enabled Madoff to defraud investors, the U.S. attorney for Manhattan said.

The charges O’Hara, 46, and Perez, 43, face include conspiracy and falsifying documents. Prosecutors said they found handwritten notes in O’Hara’s desk from 2006 saying, “I won’t lie any longer. Next time I say, Ask Frank,” referring to Madoff lieutenant Frank DiPascali Jr.

O’Hara and Perez were freed on a $1-million bond. O’Hara’s lawyer said his client would plead not guilty. Perez’s lawyer declined to comment.