What happened to Bernie Madoff’s sister?

RELATIVES of schemer Bernie Madoff have met tragic ends since Madoff’s 2009 sentencing.

Madoff’s elder son committed suicide, his younger son died of cancer, and has been newly reported that his sister and her spouse were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their home in Florida.

What happened to Bernie Madoff’s sister?

An investigation is being conducted to determine exactly what befell Madoff’s sister Sondra Weiner, 87, and her husband Marvin, 90.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told the press: “Upon arrival deputies located an elderly female and male deceased from a gunshot wound.”

Sondra was a victim of her brother’s financial crimes, losing about $3million to the scam that landed her brother a 150-year sentence. 

It’s unclear who initiated the apparent murder-suicide.

The New York Post reported that relatives are seeking the application of state laws that shield details about victims.

Who was Bernie Madoff?

Bernie Madoff was the mind behind one of the largest financial schemes in modern banking history.

As founder and chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Madoff led an operation that inflated profits, filed bogus acquisitions of stock and lied to high profile investors like Kevin Bacon, Larry King, and more.

Business Insider reported that Madoff’s had swindled clients out of about $65billion. 

Madoff’s long tenure in the financial services industry–he was the chairman of the NASDAQ at one point–made him seem unsuspicious.

But his unscrupulousness was boundless, and Investopedia notes that he had scammed nonprofits like the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Peace into borderline insolvency. 

In 2008, as the stock market was experiencing its most notable implosion since the Great Depression, some of Madoff’s investors requested he return their money.

The company account did not have nearly enough cash on hand to pay back clients, and Madoff came to realize the fraud would be exposed.

He confessed to his sons Mark and Andrew, who notified authorities and would resent their father for the remainder of their lives.

AP:Associated Press

What is a Ponzi Scheme?

A Ponzi Scheme is a financial ruse in which new investors are cultivated to pay back old clients to give the illusion that the investments are operating at a profit. 

In an adage, the practice is “borrowing from Peter to pay Paul.”

Charles Ponzi, the scam’s namesake, was an Italian businessman who had devised several shady operations in his career.

Part of his act included telling investors that he could double their money in 45 days, but the returns made to past investors was in actuality just the money brought in from new ones. 

Ponzi was arrested in 1920 and has lived in financial infamy ever since.

Madoff died in prison in 2021.