Madoff set to spend life behind bars

Crooked financier Bernard Madoff faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars after pleading guilty to a $50bn (€38bn)-plus investment fraud today.

The 70-year-old said he was “deeply sorry and ashamed” as he admitted masterminding a massive “Ponzi” scheme that took in thousands of investors.

Some of his victims attended the New York court to hear Judge Denny Chin revoke Madoff’s bail and warn the fraudster of a possible sentence of 150 years imprisonment.

Ripples of applause echoed through the court room as Madoff was remanded in custody. It is now highly likely that he will live out the rest of his years in jail.

Madoff, dressed in a grey suit and tie, appeared calm in court as he admitted guilt to 11 charges of fraud, perjury and false reporting.

Prior to the plea being taken, the fraudster apologised for his actions

He told the court: “I am grateful for this opportunity to publicly speak about my crimes, for which I am so deeply sorry and ashamed.”

He added that he knew the fraud – which he said began in the early 1990s – was “wrong” and “criminal”.

But he added: “I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients from the scheme.”

As time went on it proved “difficult” and then “impossible” to end, he said. Madoff told to court: “As the years went by, I realised my risk, and this day would inevitably come.

“I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done,” he added.

Madoff explained in court how he conducted the fraud. He said the pyramid scheme operated alongside a legitimate part of the business run by his sons and brother.

Billions of dollars was taking from clients and pumped into the Ponzi scheme under the pretence that it was being invested in securities.

Instead the money was deposited in a number of bank accounts and used periodically to pay out to other investors.

When the scam was exposed, Madoff claimed to hold $64.8bn (€50.37bn) worth of client money relating to 4,800 investors. In reality, his firm held only a fraction of that amount.

Most of the missing money has not been located.

To hide the crime, Madoff lied to clients and regulators. He also wired money to and from the UK in a bid to look as though he was investing in European markets.

After taking Madoff’s pleas on all 11 charges, Judge Chin invited victims to come forward and address the court.

One victim, named only as Mr Nuremberg, challenged the fraudster to face his victims.

He told the court: “I am one of the many victims of Madoff’s egregious crimes.”

Mr Nuremberg then turned to the fraudster, and said: “I do not know if you have had the chance to turn around and look at the victims.”

Madoff continued to stare straight ahead of him, away from the investors who had crammed into the back of the court.

Mr Nuremberg expressed disbelief that the fraud could have been conducted by Madoff alone.

He said: “We know that the operation was massive, that he did not commit this crime alone. I do not understand why conspiracy was not part of the plea.”

The scammed investor said the Ponzi scheme must have required “an army of people”.

Another victim, who did not give her name, urged the Judge to reject the pleas so a trial could take place.

She told the court: “If we go to trial we will show our people in this struggling country and the world that looks to us as the global moral leader that we hold all people accountable.”

Madoff’s decision not to enter into a plea bargain has been taken as an indication that the financier is still refusing to cooperate with authorities over the whereabouts of missing billions or who else may have been involved in the scheme.

In court today, the Attorney’s office repeated its vow not to close its investigation into Madoff’s activities.

After hearing from Madoff and some of victims, the judge accepted the guilty pleas and turned his attention to the subject of bail.

To the disgust of his victims, Madoff has spent the months since being arrested in his plush Manhattan apartment rather than in a cell. In court today, his lawyer, Ira Sorkin, attempted to argue that his client was not a risk of flight.

But this was dismissed by the judge.

“He has the means to flee and therefore is a risk of flight. Bail is revoked and the defendant is remanded,” Judge Chin said.

Madoff is due to be sentenced on June 16.