Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Houston Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adel Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollardto Madoff's scheme. The mastermind behine the biggest Ponzi schemein U.S. historg was sentenced on Monday morning in federal courtg in Manhattan to 150 yearsbehind bars, the maximunm requested by federal prosecutors. Madoff'z attorney had asked for a far more lenient sentencee of12 years. In sentencingf Madoff, U.S.
District Judge Denny Chin called the fraud and said thatthe “breach of trust was The judge described his acts as “extraordinarily “No other white-collar case is comparable in termz of the scope, duration and enormity of the fraud and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin said. Madoffc confessed in March to 11 counts including money laundering theftand perjury, amongv other things. His victims reportedly number morethan 1,300 and stretcbh across the globe.
Their lossese are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victimxs who talked about the devastation Madoff’s fraud had caused to their lives and their Many of Madoff’s wealthy clients livec in South Florida and lost their life savings to his Fox, 86, said she is still furious that the and the federalo government didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guilth as Madoff and theyfailedc us. Nobody seems to do anything about it,” Fox She also took issue with the largee fees being paid to people such asIrvingh H. Picard, the trustee who is handling the liquidatiob ofBernard L.
Madoff Investment 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 Fox, a widow who once worked as secretar inNew York, said she investes $50,000 in 1987 because she was relatee to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some mone y back from Social Securitypayments she’d made over the yearas on “phantom” income from Madoff accounts.
she is worried that her disbursements may eventuall y be targeted in clawback efforts by the trustee in bankruptch proceedings who has begun sending out letters demanding the returbn of profits derived fromtheit investments. Guy Fronstin a Boca Rato attorney who hasadvised Fox, said the government has “beenj good about refunding taxes quickly” but there are delayxs in processing claims to the Securities Investor Protectiom Corporation.
“Some of the people I know are too busy with thesw other issues to reallg care that much about what happened They believed he would spenrd the rest of his daysin jail,” Fronstin Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno said he believes the court had littld choice but to levy the maximum sentence on Madoff. “I don’t think the victims shoulx have been victimized again by havinb him be able to leave prison one said Atlas, whose firm continues to advisw clients about tax returns and possibly futurw claims against investment advisors who invested with Madoff.
“I’mk wondering if the trustee will be able to locatde more than the billion plusthat he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison Madoff was ordered to forfeitnearly $170 billion, whic h represents the proceeds of, and property involver in certain of his crimes, accordint to a news release from the U.S. Departmenyt of Justice. “While today’s sentence is an important the investigationis continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, acting U.S. Attorne y for the Southern District of New said in anews release. “We are focused on restraining and liquidating assets to maximiz recoveries forthe victims.
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