Madoff gets 150 years in prison - New Mexico Business Weekly:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he said Adele Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollareto Madoff's scheme. The mastermindf behind the biggest Ponzji schemein U.S. history was sentenced on Monday morningy in federal court in Manhattan to 150 yearsdbehind bars, the maximum requestef by federal prosecutors. Madoff's attorney had askeds for a far more lenient sentencwe of12 years. In sentencing Madoff, U.S. District Judge Dennyh Chin called thefraud “staggering” and said that the “breacnh of trust was The judge described his acts as “extraordinarilyh evil.
” “No other white-collard case is comparable in terms of the scope, durationh and enormity of the fraud and the degrede of the betrayal,” Chin said. Madoffr confessed in March to 11 countsincludint fraud, money laundering thefy and perjury, among other things. His victimws reportedly number morethan 1,300 and stretcyh across the globe. Their losses are estimated at morethan $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin heared from nine of the victims who talked about the devastatiob Madoff’s fraud had causedd to their lives and their families. Many of Madoff’zs wealthy clients lived in South Floridqa and lost their life savings tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is still furious that the and the federalgovernment didn’t exposr Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guiltyu as Madoff and theyfailed us. Nobody seems to do anything about it,” Fox She also took issue with the large fees beinvg paid to people such asIrving H. Picard, the trustee who is handlinv the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investmenf Securities. “The trustee Picard is makin g hisown rules. They’re paying thesw guys millions of dollars. It would be bettet to pay the investors directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widoa who once worked as secretaryy inNew York, said she invested $50,000 in 1987 becauss she was related to Madoff’s Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some money back from Social Securitypayments she’d made over the yearsw on “phantom” income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worried that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawbacm efforts by the trustee in bankruptcy proceedings who has begun sending out letterws demanding the return of profits derived fromtheie investments.
Guy Fronstin a Boca Raton attorney who hasadvisedr Fox, said the government has “been good abourt refunding taxes quickly” but there are delayse in processing claims to the Securities Investod Protection Corporation. “Some of the people I know are too busy with thesde other issues to really care that much aboutf whathappened today. They believed he wouldx spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said. Jan Atlas, an attorneyu with Adorno Yoss, said he believes the court had littled choice but to levy the maximum sentencseon Madoff.
“I don’t think the victime should have been victimized again by havingb him be able to leave prison one said Atlas, whose firm continues to advis e clients about tax returns and possiblgy future claims against investment advisords who invested with Madoff. “I’mm wondering if the trustee will be able to located more than the billiomn plusthat he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison term, Madofd was ordered to forfeirnearly $170 billion, which represents the proceeds of, and properth involved in certain of his crimes, accordinh to a news release from the U.S. Departmentf of Justice.
“While today’s sentence is an importanr milestone, the investigation is continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, actingy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidating assets to maximizer recoveries for the victims.”