Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Bernard Madoff is scheduled to appear this afternoon in Manhattan federal court for a bail hearing, federal prosecutors said in an e-mailed statement.

Madoff, 70, was charged last month with one count of securities fraud for allegedly directing a $50 billion Ponzi scheme out of his New York investment firm. He faces as much as 10 years in prison and a fine of $5 million if convicted.

Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC collapsed in December after he told his sons it was a fraud, according to a criminal complaint by the FBI and a lawyer for the brothers. The firm is liquidating under the Securities Investor Protection Corp., whose funds cover securities and cash claims of as much as $500,000 per customer, including as much as $100,000 in cash.

The government may ask that Madoff’s bail conditions be modified, including that bail be withdrawn and the former executive imprisoned. He was placed under 24-hour house arrest in his $7 million New York City apartment last month after prosecutors warned of his “harm or flight.” Madoff was originally ordered to have electronic monitoring and a 7 p.m. curfew. He is now barred from leaving his Upper East Side apartment except for court appearances, and his building is monitored by security guards and video surveillance.

Madoff’s wife, Ruth, agreed to give up homes in Montauk, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, if her husband flees. Madoff was arrested Dec. 11 after telling his sons that his firm was “one big lie,” the Securities and Exchange Commission said. U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel Gorenstein in Manhattan also ordered the Madoffs to surrender their passports.

The case is U.S. v. Madoff, 08-mag-2735, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: David Glovin in New York federal court at dglovin@bloomberg.net and; Christopher Scinta in New York federal court at dglovin@bloomberg.net and;

Last Updated: January 5, 2009 14:05 EST