Ponzi scheme mastermind Madoff dies in prison aged 82
FINANCIER Bernie Madoff, who was sentenced to 150 years in jail after pleading guilty to organising the world’s biggest investment scam, has died in prison aged 82.
Madoff built a massive “Ponzi” scheme, where money is taken from new clients to repay earlier investors, duping celebrities such as Steven Spielberg and John Malkovich. Investors lost more than $19billion (£13.7billion) when the fund collapsed.
His brokerage allowed him to buy a $21million home in Palm Beach, a 55ft yacht, a $7million apartment in New York and houses at the Hamptons in Long Island and in France.
However, his empire started to unravel after the 2008 financial crisis, when clients began asking for their money back, and it was revealed that he had been using inflows to pay “profits” to clients.
Many of the victims were middleclass workers who were left struggling to pay bills. Investigators said Madoff defrauded as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries over four decades.
Madoff started his company while aged in his 20s with $5,000 saved from working as a lifesaver and a sprinkler installer. He later built a reputation as a star stock-picker.
He pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud and money laundering in March 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
Madoff died at the Federal Medical Centre in Butner, North Carolina, from natural causes, the Associated Press reported.
His death comes just over a year after he asked a US judge for early release, saying he was suffering from terminal kidney failure and other health problems and had 18 months to live. The request was rejected.
A trustee appointed to recover money for Madoff ’s victims said they have been repaid more than $13 billion.