Bernard Madoff, the man behind one of the largest fraud schemes in history, told a Manhattan court yesterday that he was “so deeply sorry and ashamed” as he pleaded guilty of cheating thousands of investors and was sent to jail.

Speaking extensively for the first time since his December 11 arrest, Mr Madoff told Denny Chin, a US district judge, that he had turned to fraud when his investment business did badly in the recession of the early 1990s.

“I felt compelled to satisfy my clients' expectations at any cost,” the once respected New York broker told the packed courtroom. “When I began the Ponzi scheme, I believed it would end shortly and I would be able to extricate myself and my clients.”