Bernard Madoff, the man behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in history has died.
Madoff, 82, passed away on Wednesday, April 14, at a federal prison in North Carolina, where he was serving a 150-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2009.
He had requested for compassionate early release, citing ending stage kidney disease, in February 2020, which was not granted.
On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to these criminal charges: securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, false filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), theft from an employee benefit plan. On June 29, 2009, he was sentenced to 150 years in prison and forfeiture of $171 billion.
The swindler gave up his interests in all property, including real estate, investments, car and boats. Under the arrangement, the government also obtained his wife’s interest in all property, including $80 million that she claimed belonged to her, leaving her with $2.5 million in assets.
The fall of Madoff affected his family so much. The oldest of his two sons, Mark Madoff, died by suicide on second anniversary of his father’s arrest in 2010. Mark’s suicide prompted his mother, Ruth Madoff, to cut off all communications with her husband. While the second son, Andrew Madoff died from cancer at the age of 48 in 2014.
His younger brother, who managed the business, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of falsifying false records and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. He was released from Federal custody last year and lived with remorse and guilt for the pain he caused his family, and his victims.ad
Madoff was the founder of a penny stock brokerage in 1960 which grew into Bernard L. Madoff investment securities. He was it’s chairman till his arrest on December 11, 2008.
On December 10, his now deceased sons Mark and Andrew told the authorities that their father had confessed to them that the asset management unit of his company was a massive Ponzi scheme. The following day, FBI agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud.
SEC had previously conducted series of investigations into his business practices but wasn’t able to uncover the big fraud. But Madoff admitted turning his wealth management business into a massive Ponzi scheme. He defrauded as many as 37,000 investors of billions of dollars in 136 countries.
The confessed swindler of the largest financial fraud in US history prosecutors estimated the fraud to be worth $64.8 billion based on the amounts in the accounts of Madoff’s 4,800 clients as of November 30, 2008. His victims included the then majority owner of the New York Mets; Fred Wilpon, charitable foundations of director Steven Spielberg, husband and wife actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, former chief economist at Salomon Brothers Henry Kaufman, Boston philanthropist Carl Shapiro, two Europe’s wealthiest women, Alicia Koplowotz of Spain and Liliane Bettencourt of France, and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, New York and Yeshiva universities as well as ordinary investors.
Prior to his arrest, Madoff was seen as a self-made and respected figure.
He was known for being the chairman of Nasdaq stock market in 1990, 1991, and 1993 and also the head of the seemingly successful Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities firm.