Madoff handed 150-year prison sentence
Madoff handed 150-year prison sentence
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Monday, 29, Jun 2009 08:34
Bernard Madoff has been handed a 150-year prison sentence after being found guilty of running one of the largest fraud schemes ever seen.
The 71-year-old admitted back in March to running a $65 billion (£40 billion) Ponzi scheme for the last three decades.
Despite Madoff's legal team requesting the former money manager receive a mere 12 years behind bars, a US court today handed down the maximum term available.
During proceedings on Monday, the court heard from a number of victims who have lost vast sums of money due to the fraud scheme run by Madoff.
The disgraced financier even gave a statement himself during which he apologised to the victims and described his regret at the legacy of shame his actions would leave on his family.
In earlier court hearings, the 71-year-old had refused to aid investigators by fingering others who could have been involved and will now spend the rest of his life in prison.
The courts had already stripped him and his wife of their wealth, forfeiting assets of around $170 billion and $80 million respectively.
The amount Madoff was individually ordered to forfeit was equal to what prosecutors claim passed through his investment firm during his elaborate fraud.
In March, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges including securities fraud and money laundering. He also admitted defrauding thousands of innocent people through his Ponzi scheme which he been running since the early 1990s.