麦道夫认罪 面临最多150年监禁

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Bernard Madoff now prepared to plead guilty to operating the biggest investment fraud in history, a plea that could carry a sentence of up to 150 years in prison.

Ronnie Sue Ambrosino is among the 4800 alleged victims who had a direct account with Madoff, she says she invested all she had-- 1.6 million dollars. She and her husband Dominic were traveling in their RV when they learned of the fraud. And they’ve had to live in it ever since, unable to afford to drive the gas-guzzling vehicle.

"I never planned that Madoff would pull the rug out from under us. We wanted to have a long retirement together and our thoughts were, we'll save as much as we can today, put it in with Madoff, and that money will carry us through."

The losses are staggering. Madoff, a former chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, reported to clients around the globe in November that their accounts were worth a total of nearly 65 billion dollars according to a government court filing. In fact, Bernard Madoff investment securities had only a small fraction of that amount. Since the 1980s, prosecutors alleged, Madoff used new funds from investors to pay redemptions to other investors, apparently the biggest Ponzi Scheme ever.

“No comment. No comment.”

Madoff's attorney, Ira Sorkin, who has received death threats and anti-Semitic hate mail, refused to elaborate on the planned guilty plea. But Sorkin and prosecutors have made clear that Madoff is not cutting a deal to help the government investigate. Pleas in victim Helen Louis Chaitman who feared Madoff might get off easy. "My reaction to the fact that there is no plea agreement is actually one of relief."

"He's trying to protect people, very likely his family, his wife Ruth by not having to point fingers to other family members who might have been involved."

Bernard Madoff has claimed he committed the fraud on his own, but prosecutors say Madoff directed his employees to keep the fraud going.

Madoff won't be sentenced right away, judge Denny Chin says it will be several months before he hold the sentencing hearing which will likely send Madoff to prison for the rest of his life.

For cnnMoney.com, I am Allan Chernoff.

Vocabulary:

1.       plead guilty to sth.: 承认...的罪名

2.       RV: Recreational Vehicle--a large vehicle, usually with cooking equipment and beds in it, that a family can use for travelling or camping

3.       gas-guzzling: 耗油的

4.       pull the rug out from under: to weaken or unsettle especially by removing support or assistance from拆台(破坏计划)

5.       carry through: 坚持下去；使度过困难

6.       staggering: extremely great or surprising

7.       redemption: The return of an investor's principal in a security, such as a stock, bond, or mutual fund.

8.       anti-Semitic: hatred of Jewish people反犹太人的

9.       sentencing hearing: a hearing before a Judge where the punishment of a defendant is decided. 判决前听审