Madoff's day in court
Victims rail, then applaud as Ponzi mastermind gets 150 years
Defrauded investor Michael Devito gives the victory sign as he exits United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan after the sentencing hearing for convicted swindler Bernard Madoff. Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison on Monday for perpetrating Wall Street's biggest and most brazen investment fraud, the maximum punishment for what the judged called an extraordinarily evil crime.MIKE SEGAR
Media gather in the front of United States Courthouse in New York for the sentencing of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff received a sentence of 150 years in prison.TIMOTHY A. CLARY
Defrauded investors Bert and Joan Ross embrace outside the courthouse in lower Manhattan after the sentencing hearing for disgraced financier Bernard Madoff. Ross was one of about ten investors that addressed the court before Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running Wall Street's biggest and most brazen investment scheme.MIKE SEGAR
Members of the media report from outside the United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan for the sentencing hearing for convicted swindler Bernard Madoff. A U.S. judge handed down a 150 year sentence to Madoff.MIKE SEGAR
A woman hands out copies of a book "Who Moved My Soap, The CEO's Guide to Surviving Prison" outside the United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan.MIKE SEGAR
Ponzi scheme victim Richard Friedman of Jericho, New York talks to reporters in front of the Manhattan courthouse where Bernard Madoff is due to be sentenced in New York City. Victims who lost money were to describe to the judge how the ponzi scheme affected their lives sentencing of the disgraced financier.Chris Hondros/Getty Images
Victims of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and their supporters gather near the courthouse complex in New York after Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for his massive fraud scheme.Peter Morgan
Defrauded investor Michael Devito makes his way through a crush of media after arriving at the United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan for the sentencing hearing for convicted swindler Bernard Madoff.MIKE SEGAR
Defrauded investor Norma Hill (L) and her daughter Alexandra make their way through a crush of media outside the United States Courthouse in lower Manhattan after the sentencing hearing for convicted swindler Bernard Madoff.MIKE SEGAR
Members of the media gather in front of Manhattan federal court before Bernard Madoff's sentencing in New York.Seth Wenig
Cynthia Friedman, a victim of Bernard Madoff's ponzi scheme, speaks to reporters before Madoff's sentencing outside Manhattan federal court in New York.Seth Wenig
Bernard Madoff received 150 years in prison after admitting to a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out fortunes, drained retirement nest eggs, ruined charities and foundations, and even pushed some investors to commit suicide. Investors thought they had $64 billion stashed away in their Madoff accounts. In reality, there was less than $1 billion. Madoff was supposed to have invested the money in stocks. Instead, he ran a classic Ponzi scheme, using new deposits to pay bogus returns. The jailed Madoff already has taken a severe financial hit: Last week, a judge issued a preliminary $171 billion forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife Ruth had claimed were hers. The order left her with $2.5 million.DON EMMERT