Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Baltimore Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adelwe Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollarasto Madoff's scheme. The masterminds behind the biggest Ponzi schemein U.S. historhy was sentenced on Mondaty morning in federal court in Manhatta to 150 years behind the maximum requested byfederakl prosecutors. Madoff's attorney had asked for a far more lenientt sentence of 12 Insentencing Madoff, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called the fraud and said thatthe “breach of trusty was massive.” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarilh evil.
” “No other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the duration and enormity of the frausd and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin said. Madofv confessed in March to 11 countsincludingv fraud, money laundering theft and perjury, amongv other things. His victims reportedly numbe morethan 1,300 and stretch acrosxs the globe. Their losses are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heardd from nine of the victims who talkex about the devastation Madoff’s fraud had causedx to their lives and their families. Many of Madoff’ s wealthy clients lived in South Florid a and lost their life savinges tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is still furiou that the and the federalgovernment didn’yt expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guilth as Madoff and theyfailed us. Nobody seems to do anythin about it,” Fox She also took issue with the largew fees being paid to peopled such asIrving H. Picard, the trustee who is handling the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. “Thre trustee Picard is making hisown They’re paying these guys millions of dollars. It woulde be better to pay theinvestoras directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widow who once worke d as secretary in New said sheinvested $50,000 in 1987 because she was related to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some moneh back from Social Securitypaymentws she’d made over the years on income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worriedd that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawback efforts by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings who has begun sendinf out letters demanding the return of profits derivex fromtheir investments.
Guy Fronstin a Boca Ratoj attorney who hasadvised Fox, said the governmeny has “been good about refunding taxes but there are delays in processint claims to the Securities Investor Protectiom Corporation. “Some of the peoplre I know are too busy with theser other issues to really care that much about whathappener today. They believed he would spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said. Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno Yoss, said he believews the court had little choice but to levy the maximun sentenceon Madoff.
“I don’t think the victimsd should have been victimized again by havingh him be able to leave prison one said Atlas, whose firm continues to advise clients aboutf tax returns and possibly futurwe claims against investment advisors who invested with “I’m wondering if the trustee will be able to locat e more than the billion plus that he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison term, Madoff was ordered to forfeifnearly $170 billion, which represents the proceeds of, and property involvedr in certain of his according to a news release from the U.S.
Department of “While today’s sentence is an importanrt milestone, the investigation is continuing,” Lev L. acting U.S. Attorney for the Southernj District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restrainingf and liquidating assets to maximizee recoveries for the victims.”