Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has died in prison
Bernie Madoff, the financier who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died in a federal prison Wednesday, the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed to CBS News. Madoff, 82, died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, the bureau said in a statement.
The bureau said Madoff's cause of death would be determined by a medical examiner.
Madoff defrauded investors of $17.5 billion, of which $13 billion were ultimately recovered, though the supposed asset value of $60 billion proved only a lie. Madoff and his family were stripped of assets in a $171 billion forfeiture order. One of his sons committed suicide, his brother was also sentenced to prison for his role in the investment fraud.
