Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty

A picture taken on January 14, 2009 in New York, shows Bernard Madoff leaving US Federal Court after a hearing regarding his bail. The French prosecutor’s office opened on May 29, 2009 an investigation into allegations of fraud following complaints from investors who say they were harmed in a pyramid scheme orchestrated by US financier Bernard Madoff, legal sources said.

Here’s everything to know about the rise and fall ofBernie Madoff.

Notoriously regarded as the disgraced financier behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, Madoff was a con artist infamous for defrauding investors ofan estimated $17.5 billion(oras much as $65 billion, including fictional profits) over the span of 20 years.

Netflix’s latest docuseries,Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, details the true story behind the New York City-based investor, from his humble beginnings to becoming one of the most influential powerbrokers on Wall Street — featuring insight from whistleblowers, employees, investigators and victims.

The streamer’s docuseries isn’t the only retelling of the true crime story, as it’s been chronicled in previous titles including 2016’s two-part miniseriesMadoffon ABC and 2017’sThe Wizard of Liesbiopic (an HBO film based on the Diana Henriques book of the same).

Between the crimes he committed and what he was charged with, here’s everything to know about Madoff.

Who is Bernie Madoff?

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Bernard Madoff mugshot in circa 2008.

Bernie Madoff was born in Queens, New York on April 29, 1938. After earning a degree at Hofstra University in 1960 and studying at Brooklyn Law School for one year, he founded Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities.

His self-started company began as a penny stock trader and grew to be one of Wall Street’s most bankable firms. At one point, he was a former chairman of the NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) stock market.

The financial big-wig ran his own market-maker firm for nearly 50 years before being caught in 2008 as the mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.

What crimes did Bernie Madoff commit?

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Financier Bernard Madoff arrives at Manhattan Federal court on March 12, 2009 in New York City. Madoff is scheduled to enter a guilty plea on 11 felony counts which under federal law can result in a sentence of about 150 years.

While they “appeared” real, there were no “actual investments and no actual returns.” In fact, Madoff used the funds from new investors to pay the initial investors' “returns.”

How was Bernie Madoff caught?

IMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty

Disgraced Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff leaves US Federal Court after a hearing on March 10, 2009 in New York. Madoff has agreed to plead guilty to 11 counts of fraud, his lawyer said in court.

Madoff’s scam spanned decades; however, the U.S. economic crisis in 2008spawned the financial swindle’s declineas the fraudster’s clients took money out faster than he could bring in new cash. That same year,his two sons outed him to the FBIon Dec. 10 after he admitted that his investment-advisory business was fake and headed towards bankruptcy.

“We knew thatwe couldn’t live with this informationand not do something about it,” Andrew told60 Minutesin 2011.

Madoff was arrested the next dayon allegations that his company, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, had swindled approximately $65 billion from individuals, businesses and charities.

His victims spread wide, affecting banks, hedge funds, universities, celebrities (includingKevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) and charities (such as Steven Spielberg’s Wunderkinder Foundation). “Mr. Madoff wasaccountable for a loss to investorsof over $13 billion,” a letter from the Butner Federal Correction Complex read, according to CNN.

What was Bernie Madoff charged with?

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Bernard Madoff leaves the federal courthouse in New York. In a courtroom surprise, it was revealed that Bernard Madoff will plead guilty to securities fraud, perjury and other crimes.

Madoffpleaded guilty to 11 felony chargesrelated to fraud, money laundering, making false statements and perjury. He left a life of luxury — having owned multiple homes, boats and expensive artwork and jewelry — for one behind bars, receiving a sentence of 150 years in prison, which started in July 2009.

In early 2020, MadofftoldThe Washington Postthat he was suffering from terminal kidney failure, andsought a compassionate releaseso he could live out the rest of his life a free man.

“I’m terminally ill,” he said in a phone interview with the outlet. “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.”

His request was denied later that year.

Where is Bernie Madoff now?

Madoffdied in prisonon April 14, 2021, at age 82. Scott Taylor, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, confirmed the news to PEOPLE in an email but made no mention of his cause of death at the time. It is believed he died of natural causes.

Where is Bernie Madoff’s family now?

Furthermore, Madoff’s only sister and brother-in-law (Sondra Wiener and Marvin Wiener, respectively) died in anapparent murder-suicidein February 2022. As of 2021,his wife Ruth Madoffhas beenliving in Connecticut.

source: people.com