Swindler Bernard Madoff should receive a sentence that ensures he will spend the rest of his life in prison, US prosecutors argued, citing the "unique scope and duration" of his crimes.
Madoff will be sentenced tomorrow after pleading guilty in March to 11 criminal charges including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury for orchestrating Wall Street's biggest investment scheme involving tens of billions of dollars.
"Madoff's crimes were of extraordinary dimensions," said the prosecutors' memorandum to a Manhattan federal court judge. "For example, the fraud loss known to date, which is greater than $13 billion [Dh47.7bn], is more than 32 times the baseline level that would carry a sentence of life under the US sentencing guidelines."
It said about $170bn flowed into the principal account used by Madoff in his decades-long scheme. It said he bilked thousands of people and caused economic hardship to individuals, charities and corporations.
"A reasonable sentence in this case would be the guidelines sentence of 150 years, or alternatively, a term of years that both would assure that Madoff will remain in prison for life, and forcefully would promote general deterrence," it added.
The government argued that the Madoff case bore no comparison to corporate frauds of recent years such as WorldCom chief executive Bernie Ebbers and Adelphia's John and Timothy Rigas. Ebbers is serving 25 years and the Rigases 12 years and 17 years, respectively.
"Madoff's conduct is unique in its scope and duration," said the memorandum to US District Court Judge Denny Chin.
It also cited a June 25 letter from counsel for the trustee winding down Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities saying that Madoff had not co-operated. "Mr Madoff has not provided meaningful co-operation or assistance to the trustee since his arrest," said the letter signed by lawyer David Sheehan.
Madoff's lawyer, in papers submitted to the judge and made public on Tuesday, argued that a sentence of 12 years for the swindler would be sufficient. Lawyer Ira Lee Sorkin also asked the judge not to give in to the "mob vengeance" sought by those Madoff defrauded.
The government's submission cited statements sent to the court by defrauded investors, saying he "was not only responsible for wiping away the financial resources of many generations within families but also for causing profound levels of stress and emotional injury".
In its memorandum and in other court papers, prosecutors said that as of November last year, Madoff's firm issued account statements that held a total of about $65bn when in fact he had not bought any securities on behalf of those customers.
Madoff and his wife Ruth have agreed to the sale of three of their luxury properties and other assets and valuables, according to court documents filed on Friday. The properties include the couple's $7 million apartment and primary residence in Manhattan, an $11m house in Palm Beach and a $3m home in Montauk on New York's Long Island.
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