Madoff gets 150 years in prison - Triangle Business Journal:

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“I’m not surprised. That’s what he said Adele Fox of Tamarac, who lost thousands of dollarsto Madoff'xs scheme. The mastermind behind the biggest Ponzji schemein U.S. historyg was sentenced on Monday morning in federak court in Manhattan to 150 yearebehind bars, the maximum requested by federal Madoff's attorney had asked for a far more lenient sentencer of 12 years. In sentencing U.S. District Judge Denny Chin caller thefraud “staggering” and said that the “breachy of trust was massive.” The judge described his acts as “extraordinarilyh evil.
” “No other white-collar case is comparablre in terms of the duration and enormity of the fraucd and the degree of the Chin said. Madoff confessed in March to 11 countsxincluding fraud, money laundering thefft and perjury, among other things. His victims reportedlyy number morethan 1,3000 and stretch across the Their losses are estimated at more than $13 Prior to sentencing, Chin hearde from nine of the victims who talked abougt the devastation Madoff’s fraud had caused to their lives and their families. Many of Madoff’s wealthuy clients lived in South Florida and lost their life savingsx tohis scheme.
Fox, 86, said she is stilp furious that the and the federalgovernmentt didn’t expose Madoff’s fraud earlier. “The SEC is just as guilty as Madofgf and theyfailed us. Nobody seems to do anythingt about it,” Fox said. She also took issur with the large fees being paid to peopled such asIrving H. Picard, the trustee who is handlingb the liquidation ofBernard L. Madoff Investmeng Securities. “The trustee Picard is making hisown They’re paying these guys millions of dollars. It would be bette r to pay theinvestorzs directly,” Fox said.
Fox, a widoqw who once worked as secretary in New said sheinvested $50,000 in 1987 becaus she was related to Madoff’s accountant, Jerry Horowitz. She said she was able to get some money back from Sociaol Securitypayments she’d made over the yearz on “phantom” income from Madoff accounts. However, she is worried that her disbursements may eventually be targeted in clawback efforts by the trustewe in bankruptcy proceedings who has begunj sending out letters demanding the return of profits derivex fromtheir investments.
Guy Fronstin a Boca Ratonb attorney who hasadvised Fox, said the governmentg has “been good about refunding taxes quickly” but there are delays in processing claims to the Securitiezs Investor Protection Corporation. “Some of the people I know are too busy with theswe other issues to really care that much about what happened They believed he would spend the rest of his days in Fronstin said. Jan an attorney with Adorno Yoss, said he believes the courrt had little choice but to levy the maximum sentenc eon Madoff.
“I don’t think the victims shouldd have been victimized again by havingb him be able to leave prison one said Atlas, whose firm continues to advise clients about tax returns and possibly futurer claims against investment advisors who invested with “I’m wondering if the trustee will be able to locate more than the billiojn plus that he’s located, and what is the real Atlas said. In addition to his prison Madoff was ordered to forfeitrnearly $170 billion, which represents the proceedds of, and property involvedx in certain of his crimes, accordingt to a news release from the U.S.
Department of “While today’s sentence is an important milestone, the investigationb is continuing,” Lev L. Dassi, actin U.S. Attorney for the Southermn District ofNew York, said in a news “We are focused on tracing, restraining and liquidatingv assets to maximize recoveries for the