NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard Madoff's expected guilty plea leaves many of his ruined investors worried that the disgraced financier will take his secrets to prison with him.

On the eve of his federal court hearing, key questions remained unanswered: Who helped Madoff run one of the largest investment scams in US history? What happened to the money?

Many of the people ruined by Madoff's Ponzi scheme took little comfort in his day of reckoning, even if it puts him in prison for life.

"A pound of flesh here is really not worth as much as a check," explained Burt Meerow, 70, who saw the proceeds of a lifetime of work vanish. He is now selling his home in Park Ridge, New Jersey, to stay afloat.

Madoff is scheduled to enter his plea this morning in US District Court in lower Manhattan.

His lawyer has indicated he will admit guilt on all 11 felony counts, which would lead to a sentence of around 150 years under federal guidelines. He would not be formally sentenced for several months.

Since almost the start of the case, the 70-year-old Madoff has been expected to plead guilty. And thousands of people who lost money with him have longed for the day he would be forced to leave his $7 million penthouse apartment, face his victims and be thrown in jail.

But the swiftness of his confession has been greeted with scepticism by his investors, many of whom still believe he has plenty to hide.

Some had hoped that prosecutors would eventually force Madoff to name any accomplices who helped carry out the fraud. Now many investors look at the plea hearing as a setback of sorts because Madoff is entering the plea on his own, without a deal with prosecutors. That means he is under no obligation to disclose names or turn over assets.

His victims are doubtful that the plea will lead to the prosecution of anyone who helped Madoff or the recovery of additional money for the defrauded. Still unclear is how much of Madoff's family fortune might be forfeited to the government, including the penthouse and tens of millions of dollars in assets in his wife's name. Prosecutors have said they are continuing to examine Madoff's finances and whether any other crimes were committed, either by him or members of his inner circle. Civil authorities and a court-appointed trustee are also searching for assets.

The judge has indicated he is willing to hear from a small sampling of Madoff's victims during the proceeding, but only on two topics: whether the court should accept the guilty plea and whether Madoff's bail should be revoked.

The bail question is one that has burned deeply for wiped-out investors, some of whom have struggled to stay in their homes as Madoff has continued to live in relative luxury under house arrest.