Madoff's fall from grace since his shock arrest in December will be complete when he returns to a New York courtroom on Monday for sentencing. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
NEW YORK - THOUSANDS of people who lost their life savings in a multi-billion dollar scam will discover on Monday the fate of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, who at 71 could face a 150-year jail term.
Lawyers ask for 12 years
EARLIER this month some 113 victims flooded judge Denny Chin with letters and emails and almost all in no uncertain terms called for a life prison term, with some going even further.
'Please make sure the facility in which he rots is extremely uncomfortable,' wrote Jesse Cohen, a businessman from New Jersey, who lost all his savings.
Madoff's fall from grace since his shock arrest in December will be complete when he returns to a New York courtroom on Monday for sentencing after pleading guilty to one of the biggest, most complex financial scams in history.
Once the darling of the markets who was believed to have the Midas touch, the former chairman of the Nasdaq now languishes in a tiny prison cell after admitting 11 charges of fraud, perjury and theft in March.
Among his victims were Hollywood celebrities, international movers and shakers, some of the world's most famous banks and even Jewish charities, many of which were forced to close after Madoff's scheme evaporated in a puff of smoke.
But many of his investors were also ordinary, elderly retirees who thought their life savings were in safe hands, and now face financial ruin.
Madoff told the court in March that of the billions of dollars which passed through his hands during his three-decade scam he never invested one cent in the market. Instead he stashed the funds in a Chase Manhattan bank account.
The funds were then used to pay out 'dividends' to investors in what is known as a 'Ponzi scheme.' Prosecutors say about 13 billion dollars was handed to Madoff. The financier himself has talked about losing some 50 billion dollars, which is believed to be the amount that would have been paid out had the funds been properly invested.
The sums were shockingly large - bigger than the gross domestic product of countries such as Luxembourg, and more than the external debt of several poor African nations.
On Monday, several selected victims will be allowed to address judge Denny Chin and say what they believe Madoff's fate should be. -- AFP
