Bernard Madoff, the mastermind behind the largest and most sweeping Ponzi scheme ever, will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin sentenced the 71-year-old former Nasdaq chairman to 150 years in prison. The decision was made after a court hearing from representatives of the fraud victims and a statement from Madoff in a New York-based Federal Court on Monday.

The judge ruled that the Madoff fraud is staggering and long-running, and his crime is "extraordinarily evil." Judge Chin said the breach of trust is massive in the Madoff case. "No one letter has been submitted in support of Madoff," Chin said. "This is telling."

Sad stories were told in the court about how the Madoff fraud has destroyed lives and families. Many victims, who had been friends with Madoff for years and had trusted the man with their investment, now live in tears and fear as their wealth disappeared with the brutal betrayal.

A widow in her 80s told the judge that when her husband died, Madoff held her hand and said to her "your money is safe with me." Then she invested all her savings with Madoff, which had been totally wiped out.

Madoff told the court that he made a terrible mistake and has left a legacy of shame to his family and grandchildren. But he insisted that he had carried out the scheme completely alone, claiming that he had lied to his family including his wife of 50 years.

A 65-year-old lady from New York, who declined to reveal her name, told Xinhua outside the court that as the plot has been going on for more than 20 years, she believes that Madoff's family, including his two sons, "must have known this." She said Madoff, whom she had been friends with for four decades, "loves his family and doesn't want this to hurt his family."

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's office in New York had requested a maximum sentence of 150 years based on the number of Madoff's victims, the amount of money he stole and the extent of the damage he caused. On Monday's court statement, the prosecutors accused Madoff of stealing ruthlessly from innocent people and yet having showed no remorse.

People who attended the court hearing said the defense was weak and that "nobody supported Madoff." Madoff's lawyer Ira Lee Sorkin had asked for a 12-year sentence. In a letter to the judge, Sorkin described Madoff as "non-violent," noted his "voluntary surrender" to authorities, and complained about the "desire for a type of mob vengeance" in the victims' impact letters.

But in court on Monday, Judge Chin said the victims are not seeking "mob vengeance," stressing that the symbolism in the sentencing is important.

Hundreds of Madoff victims waiting for the sentence outside the court cheered the outcome. One of them, Patricia Silver, told reporters outside the court that she is satisfied with the sentencing and that the judge has respected the symbolism in the case.

Friends of Madoff for more than 25 years, Patricia and her husband were devastated when they learned they fell victim themselves. In a letter dropped at Madoff's apartment soon after his arrest, they wrote: "How could you do this to us? You know we have a 14-year-old daughter. We trusted you. We depended on you."

Michael Devita, an IT businessman from New York, declined to reveal how much money he had lost. "The money is gone. It's useless to talk about it again," he said. "It's important for us, and more people, to learn from it. Never trust people like Madoff. "

Patricia said her husband did not go to the court on Monday because "he could not handle it," but she wanted "a closure."

However, to many others, Monday's sentencing is just a beginning. A couple from New York, who asked to be identified only as Mr. and Mrs. Freeman, told Xinhua outside the courtroom that such a giant Ponzi scheme can never be run by one person alone. "There are still many Madoffs. There are loopholes in our system," Mrs. Freeman said.

An old man in his 60s, another victim who has been Madoff's friend for 20 years and does not want to be named, said the U.S. government should be held responsible, too. "There are many schemes like the Madoff one, according to my knowledge, are still going on. The government should do something to clean up the financial environment," he said.

Madoff was arrested on Dec. 11, 2008 for running a giant Ponzi scheme, a classic fraud that new investors' money would be used to pay off old ones to trick more people. Investors in Madoff's New York-based firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, included celebrities, charities, millionaires, money managers and financial institutions around the world.

In more than two decades, Madoff asked his workers to create false account documents and trade confirmations of amazingly high stable returns as well as false financial statements for regulators, according to the government investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2009)