United States v. Madoff
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
1:09-cr-00213 (2009)
Bernard Madoff (defendant) orchestrated a decades-long pyramid scheme causing estimated losses between $13 billion and $65 billion, devastating individual investors, charities, and pension funds who had relied on his fraudulent account statements to make major life decisions about retirement, medical care, and education. A jury convicted Madoff, and before sentencing, numerous victims submitted letters describing the scheme's devastating personal and financial impact; Madoff argued for leniency based on turning himself in, confessing, and consenting to a $170 billion forfeiture order.
Whether, in determining an appropriate sentence for a federal crime, a sentencing judge may take into account whether the punishment constitutes sufficient retribution for the gravity of the defendant's actions.