Edith O'Brien, a treasurer at MF Global, has found herself in an unenviable position. She has emerged as a "person of interest" in the investigation, which has forced her to retain a powerful criminal defense attorney. She has also been called out by embattled ex-CEO Jon Corzine in public and been the subject of tough articles in high profile media outlets.

As she was in the eye of the storm in the final days of MF Global, she likely has lots of insight into how $1.2 billion could vanish. But prosecutors have not yet been able to interview her. According to the New York Times, she has sought immunity from prosecution, which has not been granted (not yet anyway). Investigators were initially confident she would speak with them, but that has yet to happen pending her request for a deal. Such requests are fairly routine in such situations, and it is worth repeating that O'Brien has not been accused of anything criminal.

"Federal authorities suspect that she transferred about $200 million to JPMorgan Chase in London on the eve of the bankruptcy of MF Global, money that turned out to be customer cash," but there is no indication that she knew it was customer money. In any case, the plight of O'Brien reflects the human drama behind any scandal. We can only hope that she did nothing wrong. And we can only hope that those who would try to scapegoat others will be dealt with fairly. It remains to be seen if anyone will be charged-or if aggrieved retail customers will be made whole.

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