NEW YORK—A federal judge rejected Bernard Madoff’s plea for leniency Monday, sentencing the 71-year-old swindler to spend the rest of his life in prison for an “extraordinarily evil” fraud that took a “staggering toll” on thousands of victims.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin cited the unprecedented nature of the multibillion-dollar fraud as he sentenced Madoff to the maximum of 150 years in prison, a term comparable only to those given in the past to terrorists, traitors and the most violent criminals. There is no parole in federal prison, so Madoff will most likely die there.

“Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll,” said Chin. The massive Ponzi scheme run by Madoff since at least the early 1990s demolished the life savings of thousands of people, wrecked charities and shook confidence in the U.S. financial system. The sentence reflected a growing tendency over the last decade to give white-collar criminals lengthy prison terms. But nothing before has come close to the time given Madoff—an outcome that prompted scattered applause and whoops from a group of burned former clients in a packed Manhattan courtroom.