Criminal, Fraudulent Banker Bernie Madoff Dies in Prison at 82

Madoff had been serving a 150-year sentence after he pleaded guilty in 2009 to running a Ponzi scheme, which benefitted investors with money from new clients rather than actual profits.

His scheme collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis.

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His lawyer Brandon Sample said in a statement. "Bernie, up until his death, lived with guilt and remorse for his crimes. Although the crimes Bernie was convicted of have come to define who he was - he was also a father and a husband. He was soft spoken and an intellectual. Bernie was by no means perfect. But no man is."

Madoff, son of European immigrants who grew up in New York, set up his firm Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities in 1960.

The company became one of the largest market-makers - matching buyers and sellers of stocks - and Mr Madoff then became the chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Due to the exceptional returns his firm made, it was investigated eight times by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The global recession in 2008 effectively prompted Madoff's demise as investors, affected by the downturn, tried to withdraw nearly $7 billion from his funds yet he could not find the money to cover it.

He then confessed the scheme to his sons, who went to the authorities.

Asides from banks, celebrities and foundations, school teachers, farmers, mechanics and many others also lost money through Madoff's scheme.

"We thought he was God. We trusted everything in his hands," Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, whose foundation lost $15.2 million, said in 2009.

The scam involved an estimated $65 billion, a figure that included gains Madoff's clients believed they made due to fake account statements.

In 2020, Madoff requested early release from prison citing health problems, including kidney disease, stating in an interview with The Washington Post he said he had "made a terrible mistake."

"I'm terminally ill," Madoff said. "There's no cure for my type of disease. So, you know, I've served. I've served 11 years already, and, quite frankly, I've suffered through it."

However, Judge Denny Chin denied his request, noting thousands of victims were still suffering due to their financial and personal losses.