Bernie Madoff who defrauded investors out of $65bn Ponzi scheme dies

Bernie Madoff, 82, was the operator of the world’s largest ever Ponzi scheme and defrauded thousands of investors out of an estimated $65bn has died.

Madoff died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina and had end-stage kidney disease along with other chronic illnesses, but died of natural causes according to Associated Press.

Madoff was sentenced to 150-years in prison after pleading guilty in March 2009 to securities fraud along with other charges and said at the time he was “deeply sorry and ashamed.”

“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values,” former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing.

“He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife … could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”