Madoff Set to Plead Guilty; No Plea Deal in Place

It is a "fair expectation" that alleged Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff will plead guilty on Thursday to 11 charges, his lawyer Ira Sorkin said Tuesday, though no plea deal has been reached between Madoff and federal prosecutors.

Madoff now faces up to 150 years in prison on 11 charges, according to prosecutors.

Court documents also indicate that the government seeks a staggering $170.8 billion in forfeitures from Madoff related to the Ponzi scheme and money laundering.

That fine marks a combined estimate of the money Madoff got by stealing from clients, investments he made with the money himself, and the property he bought with the money, NBC News reported, citing officials.

Federal law would also allow a judge to impose fines equal to twice the amount of money involved in Madoff's scheme.

CNBC.com Madoff leaving US District Court in Manhattan Tuesday.

U.S. District Court Judge Denny Chin said in his Manhattan courtroom that he will not sentence Madoff on Thursday.

Madoff waived his right to have a grand jury review of the allegations against him.

Sorkin was in court with Madoff to waive a potential conflict of interest between the lawyer and his client. Chin approved the waiver and said Sorkin can continue to represent Madoff.

In the hours before Tuesday's hearing, U.S. prosecutors put a letter on the public record that raised three potential issues for the lawyer, Sorkin, but they were all "waivable" by Madoff.

Those included investments with the Madoff firm by Sorkin's parents and Sorkin acting as trustee for his sons' trust accounts transferred from Madoff's firm in August 2007, although "Mr. Sorkin never had a beneficial interest" in $900,000 invested.

PDF: Detailed Count Information from US Attorney for Southern District of New York

"These facts create a potential conflict of interest because a situation may arise that could result in Mr. Sorkin having loyalties divided between his sons and Madoff," the letter said, giving restitution and civil litigation as examples.

The other issues were his 1992 representation of two Madoff-linked accountants and Sorkin's investment of $18,860 via a law firm retirement account, transferred in 1995.

Madoff, out on $10 million bail but under 24-hour house arrest and electronic surveillance in his luxury Manhattan apartment, arrived at Manhattan federal court nearly four hours before the hearing.

The gray-haired former Nasdaq stock market chairman stepped out of his silver vehicle earlier on Tuesday and was escorted through a throng of photographers and TV crews into the courthouse, his eyes fixed downward in front of him.

Dressed in a long black coat over a black suit and blue shirt, Madoff was escorted away by security officers.

Thursday's Plea Proceeding

Court officials have reserved an assembly room with an audio/visual feed in anticipation of hosting some of his former investors and frenzied media coverage on Thursday when the disgraced financier attends a plea proceeding.

Metal barricades were erected on the sidewalk across the street from the courthouse to establish an area for TV crews.

• Slideshow: A Rogues' Gallery of Financial Crime

Other court filings showed the judge approved a government request for bilked victims to be heard in court, but they must give the prosecutor's office 24-hour notice, by 10 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

Madoff was charged with one count of securities fraud when he was arrested on Dec. 11, but has yet to formally answer it.

It will likely be several weeks or even months before Madoff is sentenced, but given his age, 70, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

—CNBC.com staff contributed to this report

© 2009 CNBC