Jun 29, 2009 12:45 am US/Eastern
Hundreds Expected At Madoff Sentencing In NYC
Fraudster Financier Facing Up To 150 Years In Prison
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Bernard L. Madoff. (File)
Timothy Cleary/Getty Images
The Manhattan federal courtroom in New York where Bernard Madoff will receive his sentence Monday will be overflowing with the disgraced financier's victims.
Several people among the estimated thousands who were swindled by Madoff have asked to speak before the judge pronounces the convicted swindler's sentence.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March to charges that his exclusive investment advisory business was actually a massive Ponzi scheme. Federal prosecutors say Madoff orchestrated perhaps the largest financial swindle in history.
Hundreds are expected to attend Monday. The courtroom seats about 300; hundreds more will be able to watch the proceedings on television downstairs.
Prosecutors are seeking to put Madoff away in prison for the rest of his life, calling for a 150-year prison sentence. The defense has asked for a 12-year term because of Madoff's age.
"I just hope that the punishment fits the crime, and the punishment should be nothing less than life in prison with no chance of parole," victim Richard Friedman told CBS Station WCBS.
"I think that he's going to get the maximum sentence and he will for sure spend the rest of his days on this planet in a jail cell," Ilene Kent of the Madoff Survivors Group told WCBS.
But anger and revenge may not sate the very real wounds that the financier inflicted upon his victims. "I don't care," another victim, Lawrence Cohen, told WCBS. "We don't care what happens to Madoff. We'd just like to get our money back,"
Towards that end, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin entered a preliminary order Friday, ruling that Madoff must give up his interests in all property, including real estate, investments, cars and boats, amounting to $171 billion.
The forfeiture represents the total amount that could be connected to Madoff's fraud, not the amount stolen or lost, and the order made clear that nothing prevents other departments or entities from seeking to recover additional funds.
In a court filing in March, Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin said the government's forfeiture demand of $177 billion was "grossly overstated - and misleading - even for a case of this magnitude."
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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