Bernie Madoff, the former financier who pleaded guilty in 2009 to orchestrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, has died, according to multiple reports.
An unidentified source familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that Madoff died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina.
A court-appointed trustee has recovered more than $13 billion of an estimated $17.5 billion that investors put into his business.
For decades, Madoff enjoyed an image as a self-made financial guru whose Midas touch defied market fluctuations.
But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities and foundations.
Last year, Madoff’s attorney asked a judge for compassionate release of the then 81-year-old, citing terminal kidney failure and a life expectancy of less than 18 months.
Bernie Madoff FILE PHOTO: In this March 10, 2009, file photo, former financier Bernie Madoff exits federal court in Manhattan, in New York.