Bernard Lawrence Madoff was an American financier and con artist who was the admitted mastermind of the largest-known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. Confused and agitated, Madoff reportedly said “no one is respecting me or doing anything” and that he couldn’t “believe they are doing this to me!” though it was unclear who or what he was referring to at the time. He then grew quiet and sat on the edge of the bed with his face in his hands. BernieMadoff: Who He Was and How His Ponzi Scheme Worked. BernieMadoff, the man behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history, died today, but you have to wonder how many people are celebrating that. He swindled tens of thousands of victims out of billions of dollars. In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. TheShockingTruth About Trans Surgery: Briana Ivy’s Story. Financier BernieMadoff, who swindled thousands of clients out of billions of dollars, has died in prison. The 82-year-old passed away from natural causes at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, the Associated Press reported. In an interview with a writer from New York Magazine, convicted Ponzi scheme mastermind BernieMadoff, said that his youngest son, Andrew, tried to leave Madoff Investment Securities in 2005 but Bernie persuaded him to stay... “Madoff humbly asks this court for a modicum of compassion.” Mr. Madoff, who was a prominent New York financier, has chronic kidney failure that has progressed to “end-stage renal disease,” the filing said. He uses a wheelchair and a back brace, and was admitted to palliative care in July.