Infamous Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff dies

Last year, a court declined a request to release Bernard “Bernie” Madoff during the coronavirus pandemic due to medical conditions. Madoff died in prison in North Carolina early Wednesday, his lawyers and the Bureau of Prisons confirmed. He was 82.

Who was Madoff? He started an investment company in 1961, and by the late 1980s it handled more than 5 percent of the New York Stock Exchange’s trading volume. In December 2008, Madoff Investment Securities ended abruptly when Madoff admitted to his sons, Mark and Andrew, that he was operating a Ponzi scheme by paying off investors with each other’s money rather than actual investment income. His sons reported him to the authorities, and in 2009 he pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts. A federal judge sentenced him to 150 years in prison. Madoff’s crime rocked the Jewish philanthropic world, forcing charities to close when funders lost the assets they’d invested. Court-appointed trustees have returned more than $14 billion to Madoff’s victims.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read David L. Bahnsen’s warning about fraudsters who use religion to dupe people out of money.