Madoff will plead guilty to 11 charges in Ponzi fraud: lawyer

Bernard Madoff, left, exits Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. He's expected to plead guilty Thursday to 11 criminal counts including money laundering, perjury and securities, mail and wire fraud, and will do so without a plea deal.(Louis Lanzano/Associated Press)

Bernard Madoff is expected to plead guilty Thursday to 11 charges including money laundering, perjury, and securities, mail and wire fraud, according to his lawyer.

Ira Sorkin made the revelation to a judge in Manhattan Tuesday during a hearing to resolve several points of conflict of interest between him and his client.

Sorkin and his family invested more than $900,000 with Madoff. After questioning Madoff, the judge ruled that Sorkin could continue representing him.

Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison, prosecutors said.

In response to the judge's question about whether Madoff would plead guilty on Thursday, Sorkin replied, "I think that's a fair expectation."

Madoff, 70, is accused of bilking thousands of investors, some of them quite high profile, in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, pyramid fraud in which earlier investors are paid with the money of new clients.

Madoff has been sequestered in his $7 million New York penthouse since being arrested in December.

With files from the Associated Press