Madoff sentenced to 150 years for fraud
Others could now faces charges in the Madoff case
Bernard Madoff, the man responsible for one of the biggest frauds in US history, has been jailed for 150 years by a court in New York.
The amount of money he lost could be as high as $65 bn, in what he himself called a Ponzi scheme - in which he used new investors' stake money to pay back previous investors.
Mr Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil, it was not merely a bloodless crime but instead one that takes a staggering human toll
US Judge Denny Chin
Madoff received the maximum term for the massive Ponzi scheme, which had run at least since the early 1990s.
No leniency
His fraud demolished the life savings of thousands of people, wrecked charities and shook confidence in the US financial system.
In giving him the maximum sentence, the judge dismissed Madoff's pleas for leniency, noting that he made substantial loans to family members.
This included moving $15m of his company's money into his wife's personal accounts as it became clear that the scheme was unraveling.
Some of those who lost their life savings were at the court to hear the sentence.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
Court drama
The BBC's Laura Trevelyan was inside the courtroom for the sentencing hearing.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
Further charges
Tom Ajamie is a senior business attorney based in Houston, who has dealt with similar cases. Roger Hearing asked him if he thought that the length of the sentence was remarkable.
To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.
First broadcast on 29 June 2009
~RS~a~RS~worldservice~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~17~RS~){kind=small}
© MMIX