 The trial began on January 24, 2012, at the Houston Federal Courthouse, Judge Hittner presiding.On March 6, after three hours of deliberation, the jury convicted him of masterminding a Ponzi scheme.Prosecutors sought a sentence of 230 years in prison—the maximum permitted by law, and 80 years more than the 150-year sentence handed to Bernard Madoff—calling him "a ruthless predator" who "lived a life steeped in deceit."