Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff reported to die in prison

Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died in federal prison earlier today, a person familiar with knowledge of the matter tells The Associated Press.

Madoff died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, apparently from natural causes, the person says.

Last year, Madoff’s lawyers filed court papers to try to get the 82-year-old released from prison amid 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.