‘Monster’ Madoff Deserves ‘No Hope,’ Victims Say
By David Glovin, Bloomberg.com
Victims of Bernard Madoff’s record- setting Ponzi scheme described him as a “monster” and “serial criminal” who deserves “no hope” and “no forgiveness” in 113 letters sent to the judge who will sentence him on June 29.
Federal prosecutors today filed a court document that includes letters written to U.S. District Judge Denny Chin, who will sentence Madoff for defrauding investors of as much as $65 billion. Eight victims have asked to speak at the sentencing, where Madoff faces as many as 150 years in prison.
“Mr. Madoff has wreaked havoc on our family,” Patricia Brown, a 61-year-old widow, wrote in one letter.
“I can’t tell you how scattered we feel,” wrote another investor, Elle Bussi-Sottile. “It goes beyond financially. It reaches to the core and affects your general faith in humanity.”
Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty March 12 to defrauding investors by using money from new ones to pay off old ones. He’s been held in prison since then. Before his arrest, he told his clients they had $65 billion invested with him.
Defense attorney Ira Sorkin said in an interview that Madoff’s response, if there is one, will come in his own court submission or at sentencing. He declined to say when he would file a brief.
‘Bankrupt’
The letters include dozens of accounts from investors who were living off their Madoff accounts and believed their retirements were secure. Some of the letter writers are retirees in their 70s or 80s, and others are from investors in feeder funds that placed money with Madoff.
“According to Madoff’s last statement for November 2008, I had $2.3 million,” wrote investor Morton Chalek. “Two weeks later, I was bankrupt.”
Michael Schwartz, who lives in New Jersey, told Chin his parents lost their life savings, which was to be used for “my brother who is mentally retarded.”
Carla Hirschhorn said she’s lost faith in the U.S. government since the fraud came to light, and that she’s now being “threatened with ‘clawback’ suits” by the trustee of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Madoff and didn’t discover his fraud.
‘Life of Hell’
Korean War veteran Allan Goldstein, 76, said that he’s now destitute after selling his home in upstate New York. He said he surrendered his car, can’t afford long-term health insurance, and is living in a room in his daughter’s house.
“You are a murderer,” investor Phyllis Lerner wrote. “You committed ‘generational theft.’”
“He has condemned his investors to a life of hell, while his hell will be the prison you sentence him to,” wrote Emma De Vita, 81, an investor from Chalfont, Pennsylvania.
The case is U.S. v. Madoff, 09-cr-00213, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).