Madoff Highly Unlikely to See Outside of Prison in His Lifetime

June 26, 2009 by Suzanne Conlon

Bernard Madoff, 71, convicted of masterminding the largest Ponzi scheme of all time, will be sentenced by Judge Denny Chin of the U.S. District Court in New York on June 29.  Madoff has pled guilty to 11 criminal counts, including money laundering, fraud, perjury, and false filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Madoff lied to people to get them to begin investing with his firm, which he founded in 1960, leading them to believe that they could expect good returns.  He then used their money to make payments to more established investors in order to create the illusion of legitimate returns.  Madoff admitted in court that none of the money that he took from investors was actually invested for a period of 13 years.  Prosecutors believe that the scheme actually began in the 1980s.

Based on the extent of his crimes, Madoff faces a maximum sentence of 150 years, but his lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, argued that because Madoff has “an approximate life expectancy of 13 [more] years” his sentence should be only 12 years.

Sorkin wrote a letter to Chin asking the judge to issue a sentence “short of effective life imprisonment” because Madoff’s crimes were non-violent, he surrendered voluntarily and accepted full responsibility for what he had done.

Madoff’s victims have asked that the judge give Madoff a sentence that ensures that he will stand no chance of getting out during his lifetime.  One, Leonard Forrest, wrote that Madoff “deserves at best to spend the rest of his life in prison just as we will spend the rest of our lives in financial ruin and emotional and physical devastation.”

“I can’t see how any judge would sentence him for any period that would be less than his remaining lifespan,” said Ken Rubinstein of New York firm Rubinstein & Rubinstein.  “Its effect on individual victims was economically and psychologically catastrophic.”

Federal investigators have so far identified 1,341 defrauded investors with losses exceeding $13 billion, and the numbers are expected to continue to rise.  “He’s a sociopath,” said Jerry Reisman, a lawyer representing 16 of Madoff’s victims.  “He didn’t care who he destroyed.  He would put his arm around you, comfort you and take your money.”

According to Madoff’s lawyer, “At sentencing, Mr. Madoff will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused.”