Washington - Morton Chalek is an 86-year-old veteran of the Second World War. He first met Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff in the late 1970s and agreed to invest some of his money.

Chalek was "delighted with the phenomenal returns" being reported and soon placed his entire fortune in Madoff's hands. By November of last year, he had amassed 2.3 million dollars over a lifetime of work and investments.

Two weeks later Chalek had lost everything. He now lives on a government pension of 900 dollars per month in a small apartment about 100 kilometres outside of New York City.

"I have a broken knee, I have lung cancer and thanks to Mr Madoff, I am now bankrupt," wrote Chalek.

Chalek is one of more than 100 victims of Madoff who told their stories in letters this month to New York Judge Denny Chin, who will sentence Madoff for his financial crimes on Monday.

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to a 65-billion-dollar financial fraud and has been in jail since. It was the largest fraud in the history of finance and affected more than 1,000 investors around the world, from charities to universities and celebrities.

Madoff has in many ways become the chief villain of a devastating financial crisis that has gripped the United States and wider world. He became the poster child of the greed that brought Wall Street to the brink of collapse in October.

He was arrested in December for running a pyramid "Ponzi" scheme, under which he offered investors handsome returns on the money by continually collecting fresh funds from new clients.

Madoff, 71, faces up to 150 years in prison. He had no deal with prosecutors when he pleaded guilty. His lawyer Ira Sorkin has appealed to Judge Chin to sentence Madoff to only 12 years in jail, which would give him a chance of leaving prison alive.

But the one-time Wall Street high-flyer is likely to get a life sentence of many decades, according to Peter Hahn of US law firm Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP. Hahn represented victims in Austria and Germany.

Madoff is likely to make an emotional plea for lenience during the sentencing hearing. Some of his investors will also get a chance to speak, and are expected to demand the maximum penalty.

In March, Madoff apologized for his actions and said he was "painfully aware that I have deeply hurt many, many people." Sorkin asked Judge Chin not to give in to a "type of mob vengeance" that had followed Madoff since his confession.

Many of the victims are only expected to get a fraction of their money back. Some of Madoff's many properties have already been seized, but his family, including wife Ruth, are fighting the efforts.

Even if investors do get some money back, it is likely to take a long time. Judge Chin has set a hearing for damages in only three months.

"It will be a long time before the civil claims are solved," Hahn said. (dpa)