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Bernard Madoff exits Manhattan federal court.

NEW YORK — Disgraced financier Bernard L. Madoff is expected to plead guilty Thursday to 11 criminal charges in connection with an alleged massive fraud that went back to the 1980s, his lawyer said Tuesday.

At a hearing Tuesday, Ira Lee Sorkin, Mr. Madoff’s lawyer, said his client expects to plead guilty to a criminal information, or charging document that outlines the allegations against him, filed by the government with the court on Tuesday.

“Do you expect Mr. Madoff to plead guilty on Thursday?” asked U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan.

“That’s a reasonable expectation,” Mr. Sorkin said.

Mr. Madoff, 70 years old, waived his right to have the allegations reviewed by a grand jury at Tuesday’s hearing.

At the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Litt said Mr. Madoff has been charged with securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, making false statements, perjury, false filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and theft from an employee benefit plan.

Mr. Madoff could face up to 150 years in prison on the charges, Mr. Litt said. Federal sentencing guidelines call for a life sentence based on the current information prosecutors have, Mr. Litt said.

There is no plea agreement with the government, Mr. Litt said.

According to a letter filed in connection with the new charges, prosecutors said they intend to seek more than $170 billion in forfeiture in the case.

Separately, Mr. Madoff agreed at the hearing to continue with Mr. Sorkin as his lawyer after prosecutors raised potential conflicts of interest.

“Is it your wish to continue with Mr. Sorkin as your lawyer?” the judge asked.

“Yes, your honor,” said Mr. Madoff, who wore a dark suit and stood as the judge questioned him.

Prosecutors raised two issues as potential conflicts of interest, but said in a letter last week those conflicts could be waived by Mr. Madoff.

The government raised the issue of Mr. Sorkin’s prior representation of two accountants in a case brought by the SEC, which resulted in a settlement in 1993. Prosecutors said the accountants invested the money they raised from clients with Mr. Madoff and said the men could be potential trial witnesses against him.

The government also raised as a potential conflict an investment Mr. Sorkin’s parents made with Mr. Madoff’s firm. The investment was transferred to trust accounts set up for the benefit of Mr. Sorkin’s two sons after his mother’s death in 2007. Mr. Sorkin is trustee of the accounts, prosecutors said.

Federal prosecutors have alleged Mr. Madoff admitted in December to senior executives at his company — later revealed to be his sons — that he ran a decades-long $50 billion Ponzi scheme through the firm’s investment advisory business. He was initially charged with securities fraud.

Last month, Mr. Madoff, a former chairman of the Nasdaq Stock Market, partially settled a civil case brought by the SEC, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

In a Ponzi scheme, funds from new investors are typically used to pay distributions and redemptions to existing investors.

Mr. Madoff has been free on a $10 million personal recognizance bond since shortly after his arrest on a securities fraud charge on Dec. 11. He has been placed on 24-hour home detention, and a private security company monitors the entrances to his Upper East Side apartment.