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Bernard Madoff to be sentenced today
Disgraced financier and former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange Bernard Madoff is due to be sentenced today (29 June) for his part in a Ponzi scheme which cost investors billions of dollars.
Overall, 1,341 account-holders lost a total of around $13bn in the fraud, which Madoff had been running since the early 1990s.
In March, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including securities fraud and money laundering. He now faces a sentence of up to 150 years.
His lawyer has asked for a sentence of 12 years and the prosecution has said it will seize all his assets and make him pay restitution for his crimes.
Madoff's scheme came to light as a result of the recession, which caused investors to try to withdraw money from his fund only to find that it did not exist.
