Bernie Madoff, the fraudster behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has passed away in prison at the age of 82.
Bernie Madoff has passed away at age 82. The notorious fraudster is infamously known as the mastermind behind a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, which remains the largest in history. He reportedly died of natural causes.
Madoff pleaded guilty to eleven federal felonies in 2009. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence. He spent his final moments at the Federal Medical Center in North Carolina. His legal team attempted to have him released from prison last year because of the pandemic but he was shut down. Madoff also reached out to President Donald Trump while he was in office, hoping to get a lightened sentence from the White House.
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The former financier was previously the non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market before it was revealed that he was in charge of a massive Ponzi scheme. His fraudulent ways affected thousands of investors who ended up losing out on billions of dollars. Approximately $14 billion was recovered from the scheme, as reported in December 2020.
Just a week ago, small-time actor Zachary Horwitz was arrested for his own involvement in a similar kind of Ponzi scheme, allegedly swindling more than $227 million. Obviously, that number pales in comparison to the extent of Madoff’s damage. Read more about that here.
