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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Madoff admits $50bn fraud scheme | Madoff admits $50bn fraud scheme |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to all 11 charges surrounding a $50bn (£35bn) fraud. | Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to all 11 charges surrounding a $50bn (£35bn) fraud. |
| Madoff, 70, ran a Ponzi scheme where early investors were paid off with the money of new clients. | Madoff, 70, ran a Ponzi scheme where early investors were paid off with the money of new clients. |
| Prosecutors want him to get a 150-year jail sentence, but he is unlikely to be sentenced for a number of months. | Prosecutors want him to get a 150-year jail sentence, but he is unlikely to be sentenced for a number of months. |
| The hearing is also set to allow some of Madoff's thousands of victims to address the court. At least 20 of Madoff's investors have asked to speak. | The hearing is also set to allow some of Madoff's thousands of victims to address the court. At least 20 of Madoff's investors have asked to speak. |
| The court hearing is also expected to rule on whether Madoff should be allowed to continue to remain on bail. | The court hearing is also expected to rule on whether Madoff should be allowed to continue to remain on bail. |
| Since his arrest in December, Madoff has been confined to his luxury Manhattan apartment. | Since his arrest in December, Madoff has been confined to his luxury Manhattan apartment. |
| "How do you plead?" Judge Denny Chin asked Madoff as the hearing opened in the New York courtroom. | "How do you plead?" Judge Denny Chin asked Madoff as the hearing opened in the New York courtroom. |
| "Guilty," he replied. | "Guilty," he replied. |
| 'A genius' | 'A genius' |
| A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, Madoff has been a Wall Street figure for more than 40 years. | A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, Madoff has been a Wall Street figure for more than 40 years. |
| You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world Madoff investor Burt Ross, a former town mayor class="" href="/1/hi/business/7939145.stm">Madoff's road to ruin class="" href="/1/hi/business/7939079.stm">How long had it been going on for? | |
| He is the only person accused in the giant fraud surrounding his firm, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, which prosecutors said had been going on since at least the 1980s. | |
| Madoff's 11 charges include four counts of fraud. | |
| In addition, he has pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, making a false filing to the US financial watchdog, and theft from an employee benefit plan. | In addition, he has pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, making a false filing to the US financial watchdog, and theft from an employee benefit plan. |
| One of Madoff''s victims, Burt Ross, a former mayor of New Jersey town Fort Lee, told the BBC he did not expect to recover a single cent of the $5m he invested. | One of Madoff''s victims, Burt Ross, a former mayor of New Jersey town Fort Lee, told the BBC he did not expect to recover a single cent of the $5m he invested. |
| "Bernard Madoff is a genius," said Mr Ross. "You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world. | "Bernard Madoff is a genius," said Mr Ross. "You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world. |
| "He created a mystique and associated with extraordinarily well respected and revered people, and so he was given the benefit of the doubt by financial regulators who blew it badly." | "He created a mystique and associated with extraordinarily well respected and revered people, and so he was given the benefit of the doubt by financial regulators who blew it badly." |
| Investigators say they are continuing efforts to recover all the money Madoff has stolen, but most commentators - and most of his investors - say it is highly unlikely that any more than a very small amount will be found. | Investigators say they are continuing efforts to recover all the money Madoff has stolen, but most commentators - and most of his investors - say it is highly unlikely that any more than a very small amount will be found. |
| Mark Raymond, a lawyer representing some of Madoff's victims, said it would be wrong to think of them all being multimillionaires. | Mark Raymond, a lawyer representing some of Madoff's victims, said it would be wrong to think of them all being multimillionaires. |
| Despite widespread press coverage of famous names and a wealthy elite, Mr Raymond, of law firm Broad and Cassel, said many were normal working people, including a retired couple from Atlanta. | Despite widespread press coverage of famous names and a wealthy elite, Mr Raymond, of law firm Broad and Cassel, said many were normal working people, including a retired couple from Atlanta. |
| "He's 82, she's 78, and they are both looking for work because they have lost everything," he said. | "He's 82, she's 78, and they are both looking for work because they have lost everything," he said. |