Bernard Madoff will never see the world as a free man. Not at this lifetime. Bernard Madoff pleaded leniency on Monday but was rejected by a federal judge, ultimately sentencing the 71-year old for 150 years in prison. Madoff ran a scheme that robbed billions of dollars from thousands of investors.
US District Judge Denny Chin considered Madoff’s actions as “extraordinarily evil.” Madoff’s sentence of 150 years is only commonly slapped on the most violent criminals and terrorists. Madoff will not have the luxury of parole and will most likely spend the rest of his days inside a federal prison.
As for Madoff’s victims, $231 million has been committed to pay them back. This is according to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation – the group tasked to facilitate the pay back of Madoff’s investors. The group has already accepted 543 claims for payout so far. Under the law, each customer can receive up to a maximum of $500,000.
In a statement, the SIPC said that another $2.741 billion had been “authorized for potential future recovery.” However, this will depend on how much they can actually recover from the assets linked to the fraud.
