US seeks 150 yrs sentence for fraudster Madoff

NEW YORK: The US government has sought a 150 years sentence for Wall Street scamster Bernard L Madoff, who pleaded guilty of swindling billions of dollars from investors.

Madoff, once a revered investor on the Wall Street, has siphoned off over $13 billion through his world wide ponzi scheme and an American court is deliver is to sentence him on Monday.

"The scope, duration and nature of Madoff's crimes render him exceptionally deserving of the maximum punishment allowed by law, and the guidelines advise a sentence of 150 years...," Marc Litt, an US Assistant Attorney said in a memorandum.

The memo was written to Lev L Dassin, who is the Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where the Madoff case is on.

Madoff, who was running an investment advisory firm Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS), is estimated to have swindled billions through the ponzi scheme -- whereby the money from the new customers is used to pay the older ones.

In early March, the 71-year-old Madoff pleaded guilty before this court to various charges including securities, investment adviser, mail and wire frauds. He was also accused of money laundering, false filings with the SEC, and theft from an employee benefit plan.