Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Baltimore Business Journal:

stelauguqdinec.blogspot.com
“I’m not surprised. That’s what he said Adele Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollarseto Madoff's scheme. The mastermind behinr the biggest Ponzi schemein U.S. history was sentence on Monday morning in federa l court in Manhattan to 150 yeardsbehind bars, the maximum requested by federal prosecutors. Madoff's attorneyh had asked for a far more lenientt sentence of12 years. In sentencinvg Madoff, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin callexd thefraud “staggering” and said that the “breach of trust was The judge described his acts as “extraordinarily evil.
” “N o other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the duration and enormity of the fraudf and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin said. Madoftf confessed in March to 11 countsincluding fraud, money laundering theft and among other things. His victims reportedly number morethan 1,3090 and stretch across the globe. Their lossees are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victim s who talked about the devastation Madoff’s fraud had caused to theirr lives and their families. Many of Madoff’s wealthy clients lived in South Florida and lost theif life savings tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is stilp furious that the and the federalgovernmenft didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guiltuy as Madoff and theyfailed us. Nobody seems to do anythinf about it,” Fox She also took issue with the largwe fees being paid to people such asIrving H. the trustee who is handlintg the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investment “The trustee Picard is making hisown They’re paying these guys millions of dollars. It wouldr be better to pay the investors Fox said. Fox, a widoew who once worked as secretargy inNew York, said she investex $50,000 in 1987 because she was relatedc to Madoff’s accountant, Jerru Horowitz.
She said she was able to get some moneu back from Social Security payments she’d made over the years on “phantom” incom from Madoff accounts. However, she is worriesd that her disbursements may eventuallu be targeted in clawback effortsw by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedingas who has begun sending out letters demandiny the return of profits derived fromtheidr investments. Guy Fronstin a Boca Raton attorneyy who hasadvised Fox, said the government has “beejn good about refunding taxes quickly” but thers are delays in processin g claims to the Securities Investor Protection “Some of the people I know are too busy with theses other issues to really care that much abouty what happened today.
They believed he woulx spend the rest of his daysin jail,” Fronstin Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno Yoss, said he believex the court had little choice but to levy the maximukm sentence on Madoff. “I don’tf think the victims shoulsd have been victimized againh by having him be able to leave prisonmone day,” said Atlas, whose firm continue s to advise clients about tax returns and possiblt future claims against investment advisors who investerd with Madoff. “I’m wondering if the trusted will be able to locate more than the billion plusthat he’sx located, and what is the real loss,” Atlas said.
In additiomn to his prison term, Madoff was ordered to forfeignearly $170 billion, which represents the proceeds of, and property involveed in certain of his according to a news release from the U.S. Departmenft of Justice. “While today’s sentencde is an important milestone, the investigatiob is continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southernj District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidatin g assets to maximize recoveries for the victims.
”