Wall Street fraudster Bernie Madoff
(Picture: AP)The sister of Wall Street fraudster Bernie Madoff and her husband were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Florida, according to reports.
Sondra Wiener, 87, and her husband Marvin,90, were found with gunshot wounds on Thursday inside their residence in Boynton Beach, Florida.
“Detectives from the Violent Crimes Division arrived on scene to investigate further. After further investigation it appears to be a murder/suicide,” the Sheriff’s Office statement said.
Officials said the cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
A woman, who identified herself as the wife of son David Wiener, asked for privacy “at this time of grief.”
Contacted by phone, she told the Associated Press: “We are not making any comment at this time.”
Madoff was infamously known for orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities.
He was sentenced to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges and died while incarcerated at age 82 last year.
Madoff spent several months living under house arrest at his £5 million Manhattan penthouse apartment, before he was led off to jail in handcuffs to applause from angry investors in the courtroom.
"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."
US District Judge Denny Chin showed no mercy, sentencing Madoff to the maximum 150 years in prison.
"Here, the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff’s crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of irresponsible manipulation of the system is not merely a bloodless financial crime that takes place just on paper, but it is instead ... one that takes a staggering human toll," Chin said.
The scandal also exacted a personal toll on the family.
One of his sons, Mark, killed himself on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest in 2010.
And Madoff’s brother, Peter, who helped run the business, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012, despite claims he was in the dark about his brother’s misdeeds.
Madoff’s other son, Andrew, died from cancer at age 48. Ruth is still living.
