Ponzi Schemer Bernie Madoff Dies in Prison at 82

NEW YORK (AP) — Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme believed to be the largest fraud in Wall Street history, has died in prison.

Madoff’s death at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, was confirmed by his lawyer and the Bureau of Prisons.

A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press that his death was due to natural causes. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

He was sentenced in 2009 to a maximum 150-year prison sentence for the estimated $65 billion fraud.

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.