Bernard Madoff sentenced to 150 years in prison; Apologies to victims

Madoff swindled billions of dollars worth of money by running a Ponzi style investment scheme. The court heard from the victims, many of whom lost their lives savings. Some of the victims broke down in tears as they spoke in the courtroom.

The court proceeding at New York began at 3pm U.K. time (10 am NY time). People queued 3 hours before the start of the court hearing at the federal courthouse in Manhattan.

Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty to the criminal charges brought against him at the same court in March.

During the hearing, Madoff spoke about the regret he has for the pain caused to his investors through his fraudulent scheme. At one point Madoff turned and faced the audience, where many of his victims were present, and said "I'm sorry".

The prosecutors pressed for a life time charge against Madoff and the Judge went in favour of the prosecution team by handing down Madoff the strongest possible sentence of 150 years in prison. This will more or less ensure that Madoff spends the rest of his life in prison.

Cheers and applause came from the courtroom as Madoff stood facing the judge with his hands clasped in front of him.

Madoff confessed to running a multibillion-dollar "Ponzi scheme" in which investors were paid returns from money paid by later investors.

Investigators do not know how much was stolen, according to court papers. Prosecutors say $170 billion (102.7 billion pounds) flowed through the principal Madoff account over decades, and that weeks before the financier's December arrest the firm's statements showed a total of $65 billion in accounts.

Cheers and applause came from the courtroom as Madoff stood facing the judge with his hands clasped in front of him.