Madoff Asks Trump to Reduce His 150-Year Prison Sentence (2)

Bernard Madoff asked President Donald Trump to shorten his 150-year sentence, effectively asking to be released from prison after running the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S history.

Madoff, 81, filed the request with the Department of Justice, whose website lists no filing date. He is asking for a reduced sentence rather than a pardon.

Investors lost about $20 billion in principal to the fraud. Irving Picard, the trustee appointed to handle the dissolution of Madoff’s investment firm, has recovered more than $13 billion for them.

“It is hard to imagine a less sympathetic nonviolent offender than Bernard Madoff,” Matthew Schwartz, ...