BERNIE MADOFF, WHO was serving a 150-year prison sentence in the United States for running the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, has reportedly died.

The Associated Press news agency shared news of the 82-year-old’s death this afternoon, quoting an unnamed source.

Last year, a lawyer claimed Madoff – who was convicted in 2009 of orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that saw investors swindled out of an estimated $65 billion – was terminally ill and wanted to leave prison to die.

In a letter to a US federal judge, attorney Brandon Sample petitioned for his early release, saying Madoff was suffering from “terminal kidney disease, among other serious medical conditions”.

The Washington Post reported at the time that Madoff needed a wheelchair and 24-hour care and was asking for compassionate release, which was ultimately turned down.

“I’ve served 11 years already, and, quite frankly, I’ve suffered through it,” Madoff told the paper in an interview at the time.

“You know, there hasn’t been a day in prison that I haven’t felt the guilt for the pain I caused on the victims and for my family,” he said.

Madoff’s fraud was revealed during the financial crisis in 2008, when he was unable to satisfy growing client demands to withdraw their investments, and many lost their savings or were unable to retire.

He served the end of his sentence in a federal medical prison in North Carolina.

Contains reporting by © AFP 2021.