'Madoff's lawyer tells judge 12 years in jail would be fair punishment'

London, June 24 (ANI): Bernard Madoff's lawyer has told a judge that 12 years in jail would be a fair punishment for the Ponzi king who swindled billions of investors' money in one of history's biggest frauds.

Madoff, who pled guilty to an 11-count criminal complaint, admitting to defrauding thousands of investors, faces a possible 150 years in prison and up to 170 billion dollars in restitution.

According to the court papers made public, his lawyer Ira Sorkin said that his 71-year-old client "will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused" when he is sentenced on June 29, reports The Daily Express.

Sorkin further wrote, ""We seek neither mercy nor sympathy", urging US District Judge Denny Chin to "set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case" while he determines the sentence.

Sorkin added a sentence of a dozen years in jail would recognize Madoff's voluntary surrender, full acceptance of responsibility, meaningful cooperation efforts and the non-violent nature of his crime.

Victim Candace Newlove, of Nederland, Colorado, who said her family was left in financial shambles by Madoff, said: "If he was hung by his toes for 12 years then maybe that sentence would be acceptable." (ANI)