Bernie Madoff, who ran the world’s largest Ponzi scam, died in prison at the age of 82.
His death was announced by the Prisons Bureau.
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to running a Ponzi scheme.
The scheme pays investors with money from new customers rather than from actual profits.
However, the scheme 'collapsed' during the 2008 financial crisis.
"Madoff until the end of his life, lived with guilt and regret for his actions.
“Although the crimes committed by Madoff determine who he is, he is also a father and husband. He was a gentle man and an intellectual. Madoff is not perfect, no one, ”said lawyer Brandon Sample in a statement.
Madoff, the son of European immigrants who grew up in New York, founded Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities in 1960.
The company became the largest stockbroker and Madoff served as chairman of the Nasdaq.
The firm was investigated 8 times by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US) for earning unusual returns.
Yet the global economic downturn caused Madoff who is also an investor to incur huge losses and caused him to run a Ponzi scheme.
Among those deceived by the scheme were actor, Kevin Bacon; softball player, Sandy Koufax and director Steven Spielberg’s charitable foundation Wunderkinder.
Banks were also victims of the scheme, including HSBC Holdings, Royal Bank of Scotland, Man Group and Nomura Holdings in Japan.
School teachers, farmers, mechanics and many more also lost their money in the scheme.
“We think he is God. We trust everything in his hands, ”said 2009 Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who lost $ 15.2 million.
On trial, Madoff said at first, he only wanted to run the scheme for a short period of time.
"I can't say how guilty I am for what I did. I am aware of my arrest and today will definitely be present, ”he said in March 2009 when he pleaded guilty.
The scam involved an estimated US $ 65 billion. Of those figures, US $ 14 billion was found.
Last year, Madoff asked to be released from prison earlier over health problems including kidney disease.
Judge Denny Chin however denied Madoff's application, stating there were still many victims suffering from the loss of money.
