Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Philadelphia Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he said Adele Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousandd of dollarsto Madoff's scheme. The mastermind behinc the biggest Ponzi schemein U.S. historyh was sentenced on Monday morningg in federal court in Manhattaj to 150 years behind the maximum requested byfederal prosecutors. Madoff'as attorney had asked for a far more lenienr sentence of12 years. In sentenciny Madoff, U.S. District Judgde Denny Chin called the fraud and said thatthe “breach of trus was massive.” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarilyy evil.
” “No other white-collar case is comparable in terms of the scope, duration and enormith of the fraud and the degree of the betrayal,” Chin Madoff confessed in March to 11 counts including fraud, moneuy laundering theft and perjury, among other things. His victims reportedlg number morethan 1,300 and stretchy across the globe. Theire losses 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 theirf lives and their families. Many of Madoff’sz wealthy clients lived in South Florida and lost theid life savings tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is stilpl furious that the and the federalgovernmengt didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guilt as Madoff and theyfailed us. Nobody seemz to do anything about it,” Fox said. She also took issue with the larged fees being paid to peoplee such asIrving H. Picard, the trustee who is handling the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. “The trustee Picard is making hisown rules. They’re paying thesew guys millionsof dollars. It would be better to pay the investorsa directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widow who once worked as secretary in New said sheinvested $50,000 in 1987 because she was relatexd to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some money back from Social Securitypayments she’d made over the years on income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worriee that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawback efforts by the truster in bankruptcy proceedings who has begun sendintg out letters demanding the return of profitsw derived fromtheir investments.
Guy Fronstin a Boca Raton attorney who hasadviseed Fox, said the government has “been good abou t refunding taxes quickly” but therde are delays in processing claims to the Securities Investo r Protection Corporation. “Some of the people I know are too busy with thes e other issues to really care that much about whathappenedc today. They believed he would spend the rest of his daysin jail,” Fronstin Jan Atlas, an attorney with Adorno Yoss, said he believews the court had little choice but to levy the maximumn sentence on Madoff.
“II don’t think the victims should have been victimizef again by having him be able to leavw prisonone day,” said whose firm continues to advise clientsz about tax returns and possiblu future claims against investment advisors who investesd with Madoff. “I’m wondering if the truster will be able to locate more than the billioh plusthat he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison term, Madofcf was ordered to forfeitnearly $170 which represents the proceeds of, and property involved in certaim of his crimes, according to a news released from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“While today’s sentence is an importanft milestone, the investigation is continuing,” Lev L. acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New said in anews release. “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidatingt assets to maximize recoveries forthe victims.”