Madoff admits USD 50bn fraud scheme

Disgraced U.S. financier Bernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to all 11 charges surrounding a USD 50bn fraud. Saying he "cannot adequately express" how sorry he is, prosecutors want him to get a 150-year jail sentence. Madoff admits USD 50bn fraud scheme Madoff, 70, ran a Ponzi scheme where early investors were paid off with the money of new clients. The hearing is also set to allow some of Madoff's thousands of victims to address the court. At least 20 of Madoff's investors have asked to speak. The court hearing is also expected to rule on whether Madoff should be allowed to continue to remain on bail. He is not likely to be sentenced for a number of months. Since his arrest in December, Madoff has been confined to his luxury Manhattan apartment. Money laundering A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, Madoff has been a Wall Street figure for more than 40 years. He is the only person accused in the giant fraud surrounding his firm, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities. Prosecutors said the fraud had been going on since at least the 1980s. Madoff's 11 charges include four counts of fraud. In addition, he has pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, making a false filing to the U.S. financial watchdog, and theft from an employee benefit plan. "Genius" One of Madoff''s victims, Burt Ross, a former mayor of New Jersey town Fort Lee, told the BBC he did not expect to recover a single cent of the USD 5mn he invested. "Bernard Madoff is a genius," said Ross. "You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world. "He created a mystique and associated with extraordinarily well respected and revered people, and so he was given the benefit of the doubt by financial regulators who blew it badly." Investigators say they are continuing efforts to recover all the money Madoff has stolen, but most commentators - and most of his investors - say it is highly unlikely that any more than a very small amount will be found. Mark Raymond, a lawyer representing some of Madoff's victims, said it would be wrong to think of them all being multimillionaires. Despite widespread press coverage of famous names and a wealthy elite, Raymond, of law firm Broad and Cassel, said many were normal working people, including a retired couple from Atlanta. "He's 82, she's 78, and they are both looking for work because they have lost everything," he said.

Madoff admits USD 50bn fraud scheme

Madoff, 70, ran a Ponzi scheme where early investors were paid off with the money of new clients.

The hearing is also set to allow some of Madoff's thousands of victims to address the court. At least 20 of Madoff's investors have asked to speak.

The court hearing is also expected to rule on whether Madoff should be allowed to continue to remain on bail. He is not likely to be sentenced for a number of months.

Since his arrest in December, Madoff has been confined to his luxury Manhattan apartment.

Money laundering

A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, Madoff has been a Wall Street figure for more than 40 years.

He is the only person accused in the giant fraud surrounding his firm, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities. Prosecutors said the fraud had been going on since at least the 1980s.

Madoff's 11 charges include four counts of fraud.

In addition, he has pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, making a false filing to the U.S. financial watchdog, and theft from an employee benefit plan.

"Genius"

One of Madoff''s victims, Burt Ross, a former mayor of New Jersey town Fort Lee, told the BBC he did not expect to recover a single cent of the USD 5mn he invested.

"Bernard Madoff is a genius," said Ross. "You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world.

"He created a mystique and associated with extraordinarily well respected and revered people, and so he was given the benefit of the doubt by financial regulators who blew it badly."

Investigators say they are continuing efforts to recover all the money Madoff has stolen, but most commentators - and most of his investors - say it is highly unlikely that any more than a very small amount will be found.

Mark Raymond, a lawyer representing some of Madoff's victims, said it would be wrong to think of them all being multimillionaires.

Despite widespread press coverage of famous names and a wealthy elite, Raymond, of law firm Broad and Cassel, said many were normal working people, including a retired couple from Atlanta.

"He's 82, she's 78, and they are both looking for work because they have lost everything," he said.