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The details of his plea were discussed in his court appearance Tuesday.

Prosecutors say that the 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman faces up to 150 years in jail for the accusation of running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme. He is expected to plead guilty Thursday.

The government is seeking at least $170 billion in forfeited assets from Madoff – the total amount prosecutors say can be connected to the fraud.

Prosecutors yesterday also shed light on how Madoff's scam was allegedly carried out.

They say he hired an ill-trained staff and directed them to create false and fraudulent documents. Madoff then allegedly gave false records to regulators and shuffled money from bank to bank to create the appearance of active trading.

Mark Peltz, a lawyer for the victims, says the victims hope the judge gives Madoff a sentence worthy of the crimes he is accused of.

"They want him to suffer," said Peltz. "We happened to go through a couple of dinners with Bernie Madoff. He's very fastidious, very neat, kind of like he's like Felix from "The Odd Couple." What would be the ultimate reckoning behind bars, 10 by 10 cell, and cleaning latrines for the rest of his life."

The potential sentence was revealed at a hearing, where a judge ruled that Madoff can keep his lawyer, despite claims that there are several potential conflicts of interest.

Prosecutors say Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, and his family invested hundreds of thousands of dollars with Madoff. They also say Sorkin represented an accounting firm that did business with the alleged Ponzi schemer.

Madoff acknowledged the conflicts and said he was comfortable with them.

He arrived downtown hours before his hearing was scheduled to start, wearing a bullet proof vest. He's been under house arrest since he was charged in early December.

The disgraced money manager's one-time investors have until Wednesday to sign up to speak at Thursday's hearing, but the judge only wants to hear from those who do not agree with Madoff remaining free on bail after Thursday or with accepting Madoff's plea.

No matter what the total of the scheme, some of Madoff's victims say they want to see the book thrown at him.

"I feel that the United States government has been the largest beneficiary of the Madoff ponzi scheme, because over the years tens of billions of taxes have been paid by investors on fictitious income," said Helen Louis Chaitman, a former Madoff investor.

About 25 former Madoff investors have already asked to testify at the plea hearing Thursday.

Meanwhile, there's word the investigation into Madoff's scheme is widening.

A report by the Daily Beast website cites sources close to the investigation as saying Madoff's wife Ruth may have received $70 million from her husband.

The report says investigators are looking at some 20 others who may have been involved in the scam.