NEW YORK (JTA) — Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in jail, the maximum sentence allowed for his crimes.
U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin during Monday’s sentencing called Madoff’s crimes “staggering.”
Madoff, 71, confessed to bilking investors of up to $65 billion in his Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors had sought the 150-year sentence. Madoff’s lawyers had asked for leniency and a 12-year sentence.
Chin noted that not one of Madoff’s friends or family members asked for leniency for Madoff, and that Madoff had not fully cooperated in the investigation into his crimes, according to the Washington Post.
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