Mark Madoff, 46, who reported his father Bernard Madoff to the authorities for his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that swindled thousands of key investors of their life savings, was found dead in his apartment Saturday December 11, 2010 exactly 2 years after his father’s arrest.
Madoff committed suicide by hanging, he was found in his SoHo loft apartment hanging by a dog leash from a ceiling pipe in the living room with his 2-year old son quietly sleeping in a bedroom nearby, according to law enforcement officials.
The death seems to have been premeditated and could have resulted in the guilt of turning his father in and the shame put on the family name after the disgraceful scheme of his father was exposed.
Bernard Madoff, 72, was arrested on December 11, 2008, after he confessed his crimes to his sons. He was convicted of running a scheme for at least two decades, swindling a long list of wealthy investors out of billions of dollars, he cheated thousands of people ranging from charities, celebrities, and institution investors. With losses at around $20 billion this makes it the biggest investment fraud case in United States history.
