Madoff sentenced to 150
Tue, 30/06/2009 - 16:03
While Madoff certainly deserves a severe penalty for his massive and prolonged fraud, the US legal system's handing out of a 150 year sentence to a man in his 70s is merely judicial showboating. He is unlikey to survive the 12-year sentence his legal council proposed.
Of course in the UK he would have probably got 10 years, be declared senile after only 12 months inside (a la Earnest Saunders), and then stage a remarkable recovery after early release.
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Fraudster Bernard Madoff has been sentenced 150 years behind bars after swindling thousands of investors out of billions of dollars in Wall Street’s biggest ever scam.
More than 4,000 individuals and organisations - including Hollywood stars, hedge funds, banks and charities - were left heavily out of pocket after the details of Madoff's fraud came to light last December.
Many private investors also lost their life savings and still do not know if they have any chance of recovering the money.
The disgraced financier faced a maximum sentence of 150 years in jail, despite his lawyer calling for a lenient 12-year jail term.
What do you think about his sentencing?