Bernie Madoff, the investment advisor who conned his clients out of billions of dollars, has died in prison at age 82.
The disgraced financier died on Wednesday, April 14, at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, where he was serving 150 years in prison.
His death was announced by the Bureau of Prisons on Wednesday morning. The spokesperson said he died of natural causes and his death was not COVID-19 related.
Madoff was accused of running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. The financial fraud netted Madoff $64.8 billion from 4,800 wealthy clients.
Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme collapsed like a house of cards on December 11, 2008 upon his arrest in New York City.
His sons Mark and Andrew told authorities their father had confessed to them that his investment firm was a Ponzi scheme. Madoff told his sons the billions he had “invested” for his clients was gone.
In 2009, Madoff’s brother Peter Madoff (center) pleaded guilty in federal court to a variety of charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. bank agreed to pay $1.7 billion to settle prosecutor’s claims that it facilitated Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Prosecutors reached an agreement with Bernie’s wife, Ruth Madoff, to keep $2.5 million and a small home.
In return, she agreed to give up all of her possessions, including her $7 million Upper East Side penthouse; an $11 million mansion in Palm Beach, Fla.; art and jewelry worth millions; $8.8 million worth of yachts; and property in Antibes and France worth $19 million.
Madoff’s son Mark hanged himself on December 11, 2010. The date was the second anniversary of his father’s arrest. Madoff’s son Andrew died of lymphoma on September 3, 2014.
Madoff’s personal assets, including his clothing, Rolex watches, golf clubs, and hundreds of pairs of shoes, were auctioned by U.S. Marshals. A court-appointed trustee recovered more than $13 billion of an estimated $17.5 billion for his millionaire and billionaire investors.
At the time of Madoff’s arrest, fake account statements told clients they had holdings worth $60 billion.
Source: WENN.com
