S.C. Madoff victim: 'What he deserves'

One of Bernie Madoff’s victims in South Carolina said the judge was right by sentencing the admitted swindler to 150 years in prison today.

“He got what he deserves,” Della Hertzberg told The State from her Aiken home as she watched news of sentencing around noon.

Hertzberg was among the seven people and firms with S.C. addresses that appeared on a lengthy list of Madoff clients after his December arrest for operating a Ponzi scheme.

Most of the investors were from the Lowcountry.

The only other client from the Midlands, Johnnie Neese whose name was listed along with House of Perfection in West Columbia, declined comment Monday.

Madoff was accused of losing at least $13 billion belonging to investors, according to published reports.

Hertzberg, who retired to Aiken with her husband, Michael, from Vermont where who he ran an engineering consulting firm, declined to discuss how they become involved in Madoff’s business or how much they invested.

Will the couple ever see any of the money they invested again?

“It’s definitely up in the air,” she said.

This story was originally published June 29, 2009 at 12:20 PM with the headline "S.C. Madoff victim: 'What he deserves'."