Ponzi Scheme Mastermind, Sentenced To 150 Years, Dies In US Prison

For at least 16 years, and perhaps longer, Bernie Madoff ran a scam in which he paid existing investors with money from new clients.

Bernard L. Madoff, who died April 14 at 82, was the mastermind of perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme in history, a reviled symbol of Wall Street greed and, once, one of the most sought-after stockbrokers in high finance. For years, "Bernie" Madoff was regarded as an investment sage. He had clients, homes and boats strewn about exclusive enclaves around the world. Leveraging the clout he had amassed as a legitimate trader, he lured - and eventually fleeced - thousands of investors who entrusted to him their retirement savings, their children's college funds and their financial security. His clients included Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., and scores of retirees and other private individuals. Banks, hedge funds, universities and charities came to rely on his improbably reliable reported returns. In reality, there were no such returns. For at least 16 years, and perhaps longer, Madoff ran a scam in which he paid existing investors with money from new clients.