Madoff Pleads Guilty to 11 Charges

clipped from money.cnn.com Bernard Madoff, who stole billions from investment clients, was ordered jailed Thursday after pleading guilty to all 11 criminal counts in one of Wall Street's biggest swindles ever. "I operated a Ponzi scheme," said Madoff to the packed courtroom, after U.S. District Judge Denny Chin told him to explain his crimes. "I thought it would end quickly, but it proved impossible," said Madoff, who stole from more than 4,000 victims through his investment firm. "I am ashamed for these criminal acts. I always knew this day would come." He could face a maximum 150-year sentence. His sentencing was set for June 16. Madoff created a decades-long scheme in which new investments were used to fund payoffs to earlier investors, to falsely create the appearance of legitimate returns.

Investor Richard Friedman, who lost $3.1 million in the scheme, believes someone out there is getting away with a crime.

"The crime is really unimaginable. It's not just a typical Ponzi scheme. It affects society as a whole. You don't just have to be a Madoff investor to be affected by this..." he told CNN. "There's no way he could have acted alone. There had to be other people involved. The whole family, as far as I'm concerned, once proof becomes available, should be thrown in jail."

Pleading guilty without a plea bargain suggests that Madoff was unwilling to cut a deal. If that's the case, Friedman is most likely correct.