Ponzi scheme fraudster Bernie Madoff dies in prison – source

Bernie Madoff (David Karp/AP)

Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died in a US federal prison, according to a source.

Madoff died early on Wednesday at the Federal Medical Centre in Butner, North Carolina, apparently from natural causes, a person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press.

Last year, Madoff’s lawyers filed court papers to try to get the 82-year-old released from prison in the Covid-19 pandemic, saying he had suffered from end-stage renal disease and other chronic medical conditions.

The request was denied.

Madoff admitted swindling thousands of clients out of billions of dollars in investments over decades.

A court-appointed trustee has recovered more than $13bn (£9.4bn) of an estimated $17.5bn (£12.7bn) that investors put into Madoff’s business.

At the time of his arrest, fake account statements were telling clients they had holdings worth $60bn (£43.5bn).