Madoff has admitted that he swindled tens of billions of investor's dollars in one of history's biggest frauds.

Attorney Ira Sorkin also said in court papers made public Tuesday that his 71-year-old client "will speak to the shame he has felt and to the pain he has caused" when US District Judge Denny Chin sentences him on Monday.

"We seek neither mercy nor sympathy," Sorkin wrote.

But he urged Chin to "set aside the emotion and hysteria attendant to this case" as he determines the sentence.

No comment

Janice Oh, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors in Manhattan, said the office had no comment.

Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty on March 12 to 11 felony counts including securities fraud and perjury. He admitted operating a massive pyramid scheme for decades.

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

Still, the lawyer added that a prison term of 15 to 20 years would not disproportionately punish Madoff compared to sentences given other white-collar criminals.

"Indeed, such a range will appropriately eliminate concerns for disparate treatment among similarly situated non-violent offenders," he wrote.

Analysis of sentences

The lawyer included in his submission to the court late Monday an analysis of sentences given to defendants in fraud-related cases between 1999 and 2008 that concluded the average sentence when leniency was not provided was 15.3 years in prison.

He also noted that Madoff's age would leave him with an average life expectancy of 12.6 more years.

In his submission, Sorkin cited dozens of letters from Madoff victims urging Chin to make sure Madoff never gets out of prison.

"The significant anger and resentment evidence in the victims' words is no doubt justified in light of the circumstances of this case," Sorkin said. "Thankfully, none of the fury expressed in the victim statements has been as shocking as the death threats and anti-Semitic emails that have been directed toward Mr Madoff and his counsel."

AP