DISGRACED financier Bernard Madoff was jailed for 150 years yesterday, a sentence the judge declared was a warning to anyone tempted to imitate his massive fraud.

Applause broke out in the crowded Manhattan courtroom after US District Judge Denny Chin issued the maximum sentence to the 71-year-old, who said he did not seek forgiveness and knew he must live “with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life”.

Judge Chin rejected a request by Madoff’s lawyer for leniency, and disagreed that victims of the fraud were seeking mob vengeance.

“Here the message must be sent that Mr Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll,” he said.

The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13bn was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds.

“Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering,” he said.

Before Judge Chin announced the sentence, Madoff, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, sat and listened as emotional witnesses described how he spoiled their security.

“Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can’t wake from,” said Carla Hirshhorn.

“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in-between. He had no values,” said Tom Fitzmaurice. “He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife, Ruth, could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”

Dominic Ambrosino called it an “indescribably heinous crime” and urged a long prison sentence so “we will know he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others.”