Vilified symbol of greed Madoff to hear prison term

By Grant McCool

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bernard Madoff, who became a symbol of greed in the financial crisis for masterminding Wall Street's biggest investment fraud, faces the rest of his life in prison in one of the stiffest punishments for white-collar crime when he is sentenced on Monday.

The courtroom drama will unfold with the swindler hearing angry defrauded investors speak of their financial ruin. As he makes what could be his final appearance in public, Madoff, 71, will read a statement before a judge hands down a decision.

"Mr. Madoff has been very stone-faced throughout the whole process. He doesn't seem to have a lot of remorse," said Anthony Sabino, professor of law and business at St. John's University in New York. "To date, he has refused to implicate anyone else."

More than six months after Madoff's arrest, U.S. prosecutors remain uncertain how much was involved -- such was the complexity of the financial web he wove around the world to operate his Ponzi scheme.

In a Ponzi scheme early investors are paid with money from new clients.

About 1,341 account holders lost about $13 billion in the classic "cash in, cash out" fraud, according to court papers. They also say $170 billion flowed through Madoff's principal account over decades and last November, Madoff claimed accounts held nearly $65 billion, when in fact he had never traded any securities, investigators said.

Madoff, a former nonexecutive chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, pleaded guilty in March to 11 charges, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury that carry a combined maximum sentence of 150 years. The only other person charged so far is his outside accountant.