Bernie Madoff, the former investment adviser with powerful connections who was convicted of running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history has died in prison. He was 82.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Madoff's death was believed to be of natural causes.
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that Madoff died early Wednesday at the federal medical center in Butner, North Carolina, apparently of natural causes. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
In February 2020, CNBC reported that Madoff's lawyer asked that he be released from prison on compassionate grounds. In that filing, his lawyer claimed that Madoff has "18 months to live" and was suffering from cardiovascular disease and hypertension.
“I’m terminally ill,” Madoff told The Washington Post in February 2020. “There’s no cure for my type of disease. So, you know, I’ve served. I’ve served 11 years already, and, quite frankly, I’ve suffered through it.”
Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 crimes in 2009 relating to a Ponzi scheme that swindled thousands of investors out of billions of dollars. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
According to the Associated Press, Madoff was a former chairman of Nasdaq, and his facade of a "Midas touch" attracted high-profile clients like director Stephen Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and baseball Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax — some of whom never recovered the funds they gave to Madoff.
This story is breaking and will be updated.