Word: madoff
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...federal courtroom erupted in shrieks and loud applause as Judge Denny Chin sentenced disgraced financier Bernard Madoff to 150 years in prison on Monday. In his decision, the judge dismissed Madoff's lawyer's plea for a lighter sentence of 12 years and disputed suggestions that the victims in the fraud were seeking mob vengeance. "The fraud here was staggering" and losses from the scam "off the chart," he said, justifying a sentence that sends a message...
...victims came from all walks of life, and many were "ordinary people who worked hard to save their money and thought it was safe," Chin said. The judge added that he was particularly moved by one victim's statement that described how Madoff assured a woman, whose husband had recently died, that her money was safe and encouraged her to invest more within weeks of the scandal being exposed, even though he knew it was all a fraud. The woman's money is now gone and her home had to be sold, Chin said. (See pictures of the demise...
...Madoff's Ponzi scheme was an "extraordinary evil" - "not a bloodless crime," as the defense was trying to suggest, Chin said. He added that Madoff had not been forthcoming in helping authorities locate missing assets. "[Madoff] has not been helpful and not done all that he could or told all that he knows...
...Madoff, dressed in a charcoal-colored suit and black tie, showed little emotion as the sentence was read. Throughout Monday's hearing, he sat stoically, facing the judge, while nine victims behind him gave emotional statements on how the scam had wiped out their finances and put their futures in jeopardy. One of the most heart-wrenching responses came from Miriam Siegman, who described how she now lives on food stamps, can't afford to buy new reading glasses and sometimes rummages through trash cans to eat. "[Madoff] discarded me like roadkill," the 65-year-old said...
...When the time came for Madoff to speak, he nervously sipped from a cup of water as he expressed regret for his crime. "Apologizing and saying I'm sorry is not enough," he said. "I feel terrible," he continued, adding that he was tormented every day by the "pain and suffering" he caused his victims. The only time Madoff turned to the victims was for a brief five-second period during his statement, as he offered them a direct apology. Victims later said this brief gesture meant nothing to them. Outside the courthouse hundreds of people, including many victims...