Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty Thursday morning to orchestrating what may prove to be the largest investment scam in history.

While pleading guilty to 11 counts of securities and investor fraud, mail and wire fraud, theft, false filings with the Security and Exchange Commission, perjury, and money laundering, Madoff said he "cannot adequately express" how sorry he is for his actions.

"I am actually grateful for this first opportunity to publicly speak
about my crimes, for which I am so deeply sorry and ashamed," he said.

Read Madoff's complete statement to the court.

The judge revoked his bail and sent him directly to jail. For the past few months, the 70-year-old has been under house arrest at his multimillion dollar Upper East Side penthouse.

Prosecutors argued he is too much of a flight risk.

Sources tell NY1 that Madoff is being held at the Metropolitan Correction Center, in a cell much like the one pictured here, until he is sentenced.

The former Nasdaq chairman faces up to 150 years in prison for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme over more than two decades and involving thousands of victims.

Madoff told the court that the scheme began in the early 1990s in response to a recession at the time. He felt pressured to live up to client expectations, so instead of investing their funds, he funneled money from new clients to pay older clients, claiming they were dividends on their investments.

However, prosecutors claim the scheme started a decade earlier.

Madoff said he expected the Ponzi scheme would "end shortly," but testified that as the years went on, "I realized that my arrest and this day would inevitably come."

He also admitted to giving false testimony under oath to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008.

Following Madoff's plea, Judge Denny Chin allowed victims to weigh in, many saying they want to see Madoff go to trial.

"I feel it's important for me to represent my family to be present. Never underestimate just the value of your presence," said a victim. "I also represent all the thousands of victims who are not able to be here and the people who are in wheelchairs and who have dementia and Parkinson's. I am standing there for myself and for them."

"We lost, between two accounts, an IRA account, and a regular account, $3 million with Madoff," said another. "That's basically our life savings, everything we had. I say he should rot in hell."

"I don't want to hear anything he has to say," said a third. "He's meaningless, meaningless to me."

Other Madoff victims walked out of the court cheering, and told the gathered crowd of reporters that justice had finally been served.

"For just a fraction of a second, I felt a childish glee, which I'm ashamed of," said victim Miriam Siegman.

"I just felt like I was in the presence of evil," said victim Bert Ross. "I was relieved when they finally put the cuffs on the guy. That was the moment that justice finally ruled. I don't think that when he spoke it was an apology. I think the only thing he's sorry about is that he got caught. And we're not sorry he got caught."

"Everyday is a struggle to survive. Many of them can't pay the rent, can't pay the mortgages. They can't buy food," said Brad Friedman, who represents some of the victims. "It's just horrible what this man has done."

The investigation into the fraud may not be over. Earlier this week, reports said that Madoff's family and closest friends could come under scrutiny for what they knew about the scheme.

During his statement in court, Madoff said the other businesses he was involved in were legitimate and profitable and were run by his brothers and his son.

The judge has set June 16 as the sentencing date.