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| Madoff admits $50bn fraud scheme | Madoff admits $50bn fraud scheme |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff has been jailed after pleading guilty to all 11 charges surrounding an estimated $50bn (£35bn) fraud. | Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff has been jailed after pleading guilty to all 11 charges surrounding an estimated $50bn (£35bn) fraud. |
| Madoff had earlier told a court in New York that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed" for what he had done. | Madoff had earlier told a court in New York that he was "deeply sorry and ashamed" for what he had done. |
| The 70-year-old defrauded thousands of investors out of billions of dollars in a fraud he admitted had been running since the early 1990s. | |
| Due to be sentenced in June, he could receive up to 150-years. | |
| Arrest 'inevitable' | Arrest 'inevitable' |
| You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world Madoff investor Burt Ross, a former town mayor Madoff victims 'are not all rich'Madoff's road to ruinWhy didn't regulators discover the fraud? | You're dealing with the greatest con artist probably in the history of the world Madoff investor Burt Ross, a former town mayor Madoff victims 'are not all rich'Madoff's road to ruinWhy didn't regulators discover the fraud? |
| "I cannot adequately express how sorry I am for what I have done," Madoff told the court. | |
| He said that when he started the fraud, he had hoped it would only be for a limited time. | He said that when he started the fraud, he had hoped it would only be for a limited time. |
| "I realised that my arrest and this day would inevitably come," he said. | "I realised that my arrest and this day would inevitably come," he said. |
| Prior to having his bail revoked, Madoff had been under house arrest at his luxury Manhattan apartment. | Prior to having his bail revoked, Madoff had been under house arrest at his luxury Manhattan apartment. |
| A number of Madoff's victims told the court they opposed his guilty plea, because they wanted the case to go to full jury trail so they could find out exactly what he had done with the money. | |
| Money laundering | Money laundering |
| 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. |
| WHAT IS A PONZI SCHEME? A fraudulent investment scheme paying investors from money paid in by other investors rather than real profitsNamed after Charles Ponzi (pictured) who notoriously used the technique in the United States in the 1920s Differs from pyramid selling in that individuals all tend to invest with the same person | |
| The only person accused in the giant fraud surrounding his firm, Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities, Madoff is said to have run a Ponzi scheme, whereby early investors were paid off with the money of new clients. | |
| Madoff's 11 charges include four counts of fraud. In addition, he 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. | |
| Madoff himself estimates that the fraud totalled $50bn. | |
| 'A genius' | 'A genius' |
| 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. |