Bernard Madoff, the disgraced financier accused of bilking investors of billions, admits guilt in Ponzi scheme. The former chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury, that  he allegedly cheated nearly 5,000 clients out of as much as $65 billion, according to federal prosecutors.

more details and photos of the big scam after the jump…
There is no agreement on sentencing but Madoff, 70, could likely be spending the rest of his life in jail for running what officials have said may be the nation’s biggest and most costly Ponzi scheme.

The government also said it plans to seek as much as $170 billion in forfeited assets from Madoff, but that amount includes all of the money that moved through the Madoff accounts since the early 1980s, when the government alleges the investment fraud began.

It is unclear how much money remains but officials estimated there may be $950 million left in assets in the Madoff estate. That would still be a far cry from the $50 billion to $65 billion the government said was taken.

It was not known if the government would seek to revoke the $10-million bail that has allowed Madoff to stay out of jail since his arrest in December.

Madoff will go down in history as being one of the, if not the biggest con artist in the world.

Do you think Madoff should go right to jail??

Update: Bernard Madoff was handcuffed and led to jail after admitting he masterminded the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Madoff entered his guilty plea in Manhattan Federal court three months after confessing to sons that his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was “one big lie.”. District Judge Denny Chin ordered that Madoff, who has been free on $10 million bond, to be jailed while awaiting sentencing, scheduled for June 16. Madoff faces as much as 150 years in prison – as reports by Bloomberg