Financier convicted of colossal fraud dies in prison

Bernie Madoff, a broker convicted of creating the world's largest financial pyramid, died in Butner, North Carolina, a prison at the age of 82. The con suffered from chronic diseases. Madoff had a serious kidney disease and other health problems. The Associated Press reported that last year his lawyer applied to be released from prison on the grounds of end-stage kidney disease. The request was denied.

Madoff's victims were, among others Leonard Cohen, movie stars such as John Malkovich, Kevin Bacon, and Kyra Sedgwick, the famous writer and chronicler of the Holocaust Elie Wiesel, and a charitable foundation affiliated with the famous film director Steven Spielberg.

In 2009, a federal court in New York sentenced Madoff to the maximum possible sentence, and the reasoning stated that many of the financier's victims had lost their entire life savings.

Ponzi scheme, used by Madoff, is a combination known since the 1920s that consists of spending funds received from new clients to pay off previous receivables. Madoff’s crime was possibly the greatest fraud ever. Initially, it was thought to be as high as $65 billion, but over time this estimate has decreased significantly.

The financier has agreed to sell many of his assets so that the proceeds from these transactions go to partially cover his clients' losses. His fortune was estimated at approximately $825 million.

Madoff ran a brokerage house and investment advisory firm for about 50 years and gained the trust of wealthy clients. He had such a good reputation that for a time he was even president of the NASDAQ (Electronic Stock Market).

As Reuters writes, investors were also greatly impressed by the fact that the Madoff fund generated stable, double-digit profits, which none of its competitors were able to do.

(PAP)