Monday, June 20, 2011

Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he deserved,” said Adelew Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousandss of dollarsto Madoff's scheme. The mastermind behine the biggest Ponzi schemdein U.S. history was sentenced on Monday morning in federalo court in Manhattan to 150 yearebehind bars, the maximum requested by federal prosecutors. Madoff'sx attorney had asked for a far more lenient sentenced of12 years. In sentencing Madoff, U.S. District Judgr Denny Chin called the fraud and said thatthe “breach of trus t was massive.” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarily evil.
” “Nko other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the duration and enormity of the fraudx and the degree of the Chin said. Madoff confessed in March to 11 countsaincluding fraud, money laundering thefy and perjury, among other things. His victims reportedlgy number morethan 1,300 and stretch acrosws the globe. Their losses are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heard from nine of the victims who talked about the devastation Madoff’ds fraud had caused to theif lives and their families.
Many of Madoff’s wealthhy clients lived in South Florida and lost their life savings tohis Fox, 86, said she is still furious that the and the federalp government didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud “The SEC is just as guiltt as Madoff and they failed us. Nobody seems to do anythin g about it,” Fox said. She also took issue with the larged fees being paid to people such asIrving H. the trustee who is handling the liquidationh ofBernard L.
Madoff Investment “The trustee Picard is making hisown They’re paying these guys millions of It would be bettef to pay the investors directly,” Fox Fox, a widow who once workefd as secretary in New said she invested $50,000p in 1987 because she was relatedr to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some moneg back from Social Securitypayments she’ d made over the years on “phantom” income from Madoff accounts.
However, she is worried that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawback efforts by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings who has begun sendinfg out letters demanding the returnb of profits derived fromtheir investments. Guy Fronstin a Boca Rato n attorney who hasadvised Fox, said the governmenyt has “been good about refunding taxesx quickly” but there are delays in processin claims to the Securities Investor Protectio Corporation. “Some of the people I know are too busy with thesde other issues to really care that much about whathappeneds today. They believed he would spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said.
Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adornio Yoss, said he believes the coury had little choice but to levy the maximuj sentenceon Madoff. “kI don’t think the victims should have been victimized agaibn by having him be able to leavew prisonone day,” said Atlas, whose firm continuesw to advise clients about tax returns and possibly future claimzs against investment advisors who invested with “I’m wondering if the trusted will be able to locatew more than the billion plus that he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said.
In addition to his prisonn term, Madoff was ordered to forfeitgnearly $170 billion, whicbh represents the proceeds of, and property involved in certai of his crimes, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. “While today’x sentence is an important milestone, the investigation is Lev L. Dassi, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern Districtf ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidatinvg assets to maximize recoveries for the victims.

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