Bernard Madoff’s accountant turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday and now faces criminal charges for his role in helping Madoff operate probably the biggest investment fraud in history.

David G. Friehling, 49, was the accountant for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, the firm that claimed to invest funds for its clients, but, according to investigators, conducted no transactions at all for more than a decade.

Friehling is the only person besides Madoff to be charged in the fraud so far. He was released after his arraignment, according to a spokesman at the U.S. Attorney's Office. His bail was set at $2.5 million and the personal recognizance bond was secured in part by four pieces of property worth between $800,000 and $900,000. He was also required to surrender his passport and his travel was restricted to areas around the metropolitan New York area. 

Friehling faces a maximum sentence of 105 years in prison, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York.

Friehling is not accused in the criminal complaint of having knowledge of Madoff’s fraud. Rather, he is accused of deceiving investors by falsely certifying that he audited the financial statements of Madoff’s business.

“Mr. Friehling’s deception helped foster the illusion the Mr. Madoff legitimately invested his clients’ money,” acting U.S. Attorney Lev. L. Dassin said in a statement.

Friehling has been charged with securities fraud, aiding and abetting investment adviser fraud, and four counts of filing false audit reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the federal complaint.

Friehling was also named in an SEC complaint filed Monday charging his auditing firm with securities fraud.

In the criminal complaint, Friehling is accused of using “manipulative and deceptive” practices to assist Madoff in perpetuating his massive Ponzi scheme.

Specifically, Friehling is charged with falsely certifying that he had prepared Madoff’s audit statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles [GAAP]. Those statements were sent both to the SEC and to Madoff’s thousands of clients.

Madoff admitted in court last week that he created false statements that were distributed to clients which purported to show transactions that generated profits from funds invested with his firm.

A bankruptcy trustee hired to liquidate Madoff’s assets has said an investigation of Madoff’s records show his investment advisory firm did not conduct a single transaction for at least the past 13 years.

Madoff is being held in jail pending his sentencing on June 16. His attorneys have appealed the ruling that put him in jail and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday.