MOSCOW, December 21 - RAPSI. The younger brother of Bernard Madoff who pleaded guilty in June to criminal charges arising from the Ponzi scheme popularly deemed the fraud of the century, was sentenced to ten years in prison in a US federal court Thursday, according to a Reuters report.

Peter Madoff pleaded guilty to such charges as conspiracy to commit securities fraud and falsification of records in connection with the massive Ponzi scheme. Reuters quoted Peter Madoff as having said, "I am deeply ashamed of my conduct… I accept full responsibility for my actions."

He agreed not to challenge the prosecution’s request for a 10-year prison sentence, thus leaving little to surprise at Thursday’s hearing.

Bernard Madoff was sentence in June 2009 to 150 years in prison after admitting that he had been deceiving investors and regulators for the past 20 years. He did so by transferring all funds into his own bank account instead of investing, and simulating income by giving out money upon clients’ requests.

The list of defrauded investors includes not only the wealthiest of American citizens and celebrities, but also major world banks such as BNP Paribas, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Societe Generale, Natixis, Nomura, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UniCredit.