By Allan Lengel
Convicted scammer Bernard Madoff, who defrauded scores of clients out of billions of dollars in all, died Wednesday in the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. He was 82.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed the death, CNBC reports. He died of natural causes, AP reported.
Madoff was destined to die in prison as intended. He pleaded guilty in a massive fraud scheme that victimized as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries as far back as the 1970s. Victims included Steven Spielberg and Kevin Bacon. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison.
Once exposed, his life became a nightmare. Ditto for people and organizations that invested with him.
His brother Peter Madoff, a senior managing director in the firm, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. His son Mark died by suicide by hanging himself. The other son Andrew died of lymphoma in 2014.
