Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Phoenix Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adelre Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousandsz of dollarsto Madoff's scheme. The masterminfd behind the biggest Ponziu schemein U.S. history was sentenced on Mondat morning in federal court in Manhattan to 150 yearzsbehind bars, the maximum requestedr by federal prosecutors. Madoff's attorney had askef for a far more lenient sentence of 12 Insentencing Madoff, U.S. District Judgr Denny Chin called thefraud “staggering” and said that the “breacy of trust was massive.” The judge describex his acts as “extraordinarily evil.
” “Nk other white-collar case is comparablr in terms of the scope, duration and enormitty of the fraud and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin said. Madoffv confessed in March to 11 countsincludiny fraud, money laundering theft and perjury, amon other things. His victims reportedly numbee morethan 1,300 and stretch acrosds the globe. Their losses are estimatee at morethan $13 billion. Prior to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victimsw who talked about thedevastation Madoff’s fraufd had caused to their lives and theif families. Many of Madoff’ws wealthy clients lived in South Florida and lost theifr life savings tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is stil furious that the and the federalgovernment didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud “The SEC is just as guilty as Madofgf and they failed us. Nobody seemsz to do anything about it,” Fox said. She also took issu e with the large fees being paid to people such asIrving H. the trustee who is handling the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoffc Investment Securities. “The trustee Picards is making hisown rules. They’re paying thesee guys millions of It would be better to pay the investors Fox said.
Fox, a widows who once worked as secretary in New said sheinvested $50,000 in 1987 because she was relatesd to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some moneyh back from Social Securitpayments she’d made over the years on income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worried that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawbacki efforts by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings who has begu n sending out letters demanding the returmn of profits derived fromtheir investments.
Guy Fronstin a Boca Ratomn attorney who hasadvised Fox, said the government has “been good aboutg refunding taxes quickly” but there are delaysz in processing claims to the Securities Investor Protectiom Corporation. “Some of the people I know are too busy with thesre other issues to really care that much abour whathappened today. They believed he would spend the rest of his daysin jail,” Fronstin said. Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno said he believes the courtt had little choice but to levy the maximujm sentenceon Madoff.
“I don’t think the victims should have been victimized again by havingt him be able to leave prisonone day,” said Atlas, whoses firm continues to advise clients about tax returnas and possibly future claimss against investment advisors who invested with “I’m wondering if the trustee will be able to locate more than the billiohn plus that he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison Madoff was ordered to forfeitnearly $170 which represents the proceeds of, and property involvex in certain of his crimes, according to a news release from the U.S.
Department of “While today’s sentence is an important milestone, the investigatiomn is continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, acting U.S. Attornet for the Southern District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidatinhg assets to maximize recoverie for the victims.”