Bernard Madoff was an American fraudster and financier who ran the largest Ponzi scheme on record, worth about $64.8 billion.
The former NASDAQ stock exchange chairman was known for investments that gave his clients, who included celebrities, charities, and individuals unusually steady returns.
Madoff founded a penny stock brokerage in 1960, which ultimately grew into Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.
He served as the company’s chairman until his arrest on December 11, 2008. That year, the firm was the 6th largest market maker in S&P 500 stocks.
How did Bernie Madoff get caught?
The scheme began to unfold amid the Great Recession.
As investors flocked to withdraw their money in 2008, Madoff didn’t have the funds to fulfill the stream of requests. He eventually confessed to his sons, Mark and Andrew, about his scam.
On December 10, 2008, they contacted federal authorities who arrested Madoff the following day and charged him with one count of securities fraud.
On June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed.
What disease does Bernie Madoff have?
Bennie Madoff had chronic kidney disease which took his life.
He died on April 14, 2021, at the Federal Medical Center, Butner, in North Carolina at age, 82.