Master swindler Madoff to be sentenced on Monday

Thousands of people who lost their life savings in a multi-billion dollar scam will discover on Monday the fate of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, who at 71 could face a 150-year jail term.

Madoff's fall from grace since his shock arrest in December will be complete when he returns to a New York courtroom Monday for sentencing after pleading guilty to one of the biggest, most complex financial scams in history.

Once the darling of the markets who was believed to have the Midas touch, the former chairman of the Nasdaq now languishes in a tiny prison cell after admitting 11 charges of fraud, perjury and theft in March.

Among his victims were Hollywood celebrities, international movers and shakers, some of the world's most famous banks and even Jewish charities, many of which were forced to close after Madoff's scheme evaporated in a puff of smoke.

But many of his investors were also ordinary, elderly retirees who thought their life savings were in safe hands, and now face financial ruin.

Madoff told the court in March that of the billions of dollars which passed through his hands during his three-decade scam he never invested one cent in the market. Instead he stashed the funds in a Chase Manhattan bank account.