It’s not as though he has many other options, but alleged fraudster Bernie Madoff is preparing to plead guilty on Thursday to swindling thousands of clients out of as much as $50 billion in investments.

Los Angeles Times:

The guilty plea has been expected since March 6, when Madoff’s lawyer said his client would agree to be prosecuted without a grand jury indictment. Madoff, who is free on $10 million bail, is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty.

Madoff, 70, was arrested on Dec. 11 and charged with fraud for using billions of dollars from new investors to pay off old ones. The day before, he told relatives that his business was “one big lie,” prosecutors said in court papers.

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