Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Birmingham Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adele Fox of who lost thousands of dollarsto Madoff's The mastermind behind the bigges Ponzi scheme in U.S. history was sentenced on Monday morning in federal court in Manhattan to 150 years behind the maximum requested byfederal prosecutors. Madoff's attorney had asker for a far more lenient sentencse of12 years. In sentencing U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called thefraudr “staggering” and said that the “breach of trusyt was massive.” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarily evil.
” “N o other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the scope, duratio n and enormity of the frausd and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin Madoff confessed in Marcbh to 11 counts including fraud, money launderingf theft and perjury, among other things. His victims reportedluy number morethan 1,300 and stretch across the globe. Theier losses are estimated at morethan $13 billion. Priodr to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victimsa who talked about thedevastation Madoff’s fraud had caused to their lives and their families. Many of Madoff’sa wealthy clients lived in Soutu Florida and lost their life savingw tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is stil furious that the and the federa lgovernment didn’t expose Madoff’s fraued earlier. “The SEC is just as guilty as Madoftf and theyfailed us. Nobody seemd to do anything about it,” Fox said. She also took issud with the large fees being paid to peopler such asIrving H. Picard, the trustee who is handlinhg the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investmentg Securities. “The trustee Picard is making hisown They’re paying these guys millions of dollars. It woulf be better to pay the investors directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widoa who once worked as secretary inNew York, said she investefd $50,000 in 1987 because she was relatex to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry She said she was able to get some moneuy back from Social Securitgy payments she’d made over the years on income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worried that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawback efforte by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings who has begun sendinv out letters demanding the return of profite derived fromtheir investments.
Guy Fronstinn a Boca Raton attorney who hasadvisef Fox, said the government has “been good abou refunding taxes quickly” but there are delaysx in processing claims to the Securitiew Investor Protection Corporation. “Some of the peoplre I know are too busy with these other issues to really care that much about what happened They believed he would spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said. Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno said he believes the courtr had little choice but to levy the maximum sentencron Madoff.
“I don’t think the victimds should have been victimized again by havinyg him be able to leav e prisonone day,” said Atlas, whose firm continuew to advise clients abou t tax returns and possibly future claims againstt investment advisors who invested with Madoff. “I’m wonderinb if the trustee will be able to locate more than the billionj plusthat he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his priso n term, Madoff was ordered to forfeitnearly $170 which represents the proceeds of, and property involved in certaibn of his crimes, according to a news releaser from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“While today’sw sentence is an important milestone, the investigation is continuing,” Lev L. acting U.S. Attorney for the Southernh District ofNew York, said in a news release. “We are focusedc on tracing, restraining and liquidating assets to maximizew recoveries forthe victims.”