Bernie Madoff, the financier who orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died at the age of 82 in federal prison Wednesday morning.
Journey’s End: The Associated Press reported Madoff’s passing, citing information from an unnamed “person familiar with the matter.” Madoff was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. The federal Bureau of Prisons later confirmed the report.
Madoff’s attorney’s attempted to get him released from prison last year on health-related issues, citing the spread of COVID-19 within the prison and Madoff’s deteriorating well-being due to end-stage renal disease and other chronic medical conditions. The request was denied and the Associated Press’ source said Madoff died from natural causes.
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A Crime Of The Century: Madoff founded a penny stock brokerage in 1960 that evolved into Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. Among the most prominent clients of Madoff’s firm were film director Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and baseball legend Sandy Koufax.
For many years, he was one of the most influential and respected figures on Wall Street, serving as chairman of NASDAQ and board chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers, and he also gained notability for his philanthropy and his donations to high-profile politicians.
In late 2008, Madoff’s financial empire came crashing down when his investment advisory operations were revealed to be a massive Ponzi scheme, with Madoff acknowledging that he swindled his clients out of billions of dollars in investments. Madoff amassed more than 4,800 clients when his scam was exposed and prosecutors estimated his activities metastasized into a $64.8 billion fraud.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to securities fraud and other charges, adding he was “deeply sorry and ashamed” for his actions. He was sentenced to the maximum of 150 years in prison. A clemency appeal by Madoff's attorneys to President Donald Trump in 2019 was rejected.
To date, a court-appointed trustee recovered more than $13 billion of the estimated $17.5 billion that investors entrusted with Madoff’s business.
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Justice Department photo via Wikimedia.
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