Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Baltimore Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adelew Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollarxto Madoff's scheme. The mastermind behind the biggesg Ponzi schemein U.S. history was sentenced on Monday mornintg in federal court in Manhattan to 150 yearsbehins bars, the maximum requested by federal Madoff's attorney had asked for a far more lenienf sentence of 12 years. In sentencinh Madoff, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin calle d thefraud “staggering” and said that the “breach of trust was massive.
” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarily “No other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the scope, duration and enormity of the fraud and the degrewe of the betrayal,” Chin Madoff confessed in March to 11 counts including fraud, moneyu laundering theft and perjury, among other things. His victimzs reportedly number morethan 1,300 and stretcbh across the globe. Their losses are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victimss who talked about the devastation Madoff’w fraud had caused to their lives and thei families.
Many of Madoff’s wealthy clients livede in South Florida and lost theidr life savings tohis scheme. Fox, 86, said she is stillp furious that the and the federalgovernment didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guiltg as Madoff and theyfailecd us. Nobody seems to do anything about it,” Fox She also took issue with the larges fees being paid to people such as Irving H. Picard, the trustee who is handlinh the liquidation ofBernard L. Madofgf Investment Securities. “The trustee Picard is makinf hisown rules. They’re paying thesde guys millionsof dollars. It woulxd be better to pay theinvestorsw directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widow who once worked as secretarh inNew York, said she invested $50,000 in 1987 becausw she was related to Madoff’s accountant, Jerru Horowitz. She said she was able to get some money back from Social Securitypayments she’x made over the yearw on “phantom” income from Madoff However, she is worried that her disbursement may eventually be targeted in clawbaclk efforts by the trustee in bankruptcy proceeding who has begun sending out letters demanding the returnm of profits derived from their investments.
Guy Fronstinn a Boca Raton attorney who hasadvise Fox, said the government has “been good abouf refunding taxes quickly” but there are delays in processingb claims to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. “Some of the peoplee I know are too busy with these otherf issues to really care that much aboutg whathappened today. They believede he would spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said. Jan Atlas, an attorneyy with Adorno Yoss, said he believes the coury had little choice but to levy the maximuj sentenceon Madoff.
“I don’t think the victimws should have been victimized again by havingg him be able to leave prisonone day,” said whose firm continues to advise clients about tax returnss and possibly future claims against investmenty advisors who invested with Madoff. “I’m wondering if the trustere will be able to locate more than the billionj plusthat 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 propertuy involved in certain of his according to a news release from the U.S. Departmentf of Justice.
“While today’s sentence is an important the investigationis continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, acting U.S. Attorneh for the Southern District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidating assetsa to maximize recoveries for the