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Bernard Madoff Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison
LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, and JOSEPH M. DEMAREST, JR.,
the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced that
BERNARD L. MADOFF was sentenced today in Manhattan federal court
to 150 years in prison for perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that
resulted in billions of dollars of losses to thousands of
investor-victims.
United States District Judge DENNY CHIN, in sentencing
MADOFF, stated: "Objectively speaking, the fraud was staggering"
and that "the breach of trust was massive." Judge CHIN described
MADOFF's crimes as "extraordinarily evil" and said that MADOFF's
was "not merely a bloodless crime that takes place on paper but
one that takes a staggering human toll." Judge CHIN said, "No
other white collar case is comparable in terms of the scope,
duration and enormity of the fraud and the degree of the
betrayal." Prior to imposing sentence, Judge CHIN heard from
nine victims who testified as to the devastation MADOFF's fraud
had caused to their lives and the lives of their families.
As part of his sentence, MADOFF, 71, was also ordered
to forfeit a total of $170,799,000,000, which represents the
total proceeds of and property involved in certain of MADOFF's
crimes. Judge CHIN had entered a preliminary order of forfeiture
on June 26, 2009, which completely divested MADOFF of his
interest in all property, including real estate, investments,
cars and boats, in partial satisfaction of the forfeiture
judgment. In addition, by order entered June 24, 2009, Judge
CHIN extended the time for ruling on an order of restitution for
90 days from the date of sentencing.
MADOFF has been in custody since he pleaded guilty on
March 12, 2009, to an eleven-count Information charging
securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire
fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements,
perjury, false filings with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and theft from an employee benefit
plan.
Mr. DASSIN praised the investigative work of the FBI.
Mr. DASSIN also thanked the SEC, the Securities Investor
Protection Corporation, the United States Department of Labor,
the Securities Investor Protection Act ("SIPA") Trustee, and the
United States Marshals Service for their assistance.
"The sentence imposed today recognizes the significance
of BERNARD MADOFF's crimes," said Acting United States Attorney
LEV L. DASSIN. "While today's sentence is an important
milestone, the investigation is continuing. We are committed to
bringing additional charges against anyone else who bears
criminal responsibility. At the same time, we are focused on
tracing, restraining, and liquidating assets to maximize
recoveries for the victims."
Assistant United States Attorneys MARC LITT, LISA A.
BARONI, WILLIAM J. STELLMACH, BARBARA A. WARD, and SHARON FRASE
are in charge of the prosecution.
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