Bernie Madoff's sister and husband found dead

The sister of late disgraced financier Bernie Madoff has died, along with her husband, in what's being investigated as a possible murder-suicide, according to a report.

Sondra Wiener was 86. She and her husband Marvin Wiener were both found dead in their Florida home Thursday and an investigation was underway, BocaNewsNow.com reported Saturday night, citing sources.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the investigation but wouldn’t identify the decedents, the outlet reported.

Madoff, who died last year, was a decades-long force on Wall Street before he pleaded guilty in 2009 to running a vast Ponzi scheme that prosecutors said swindled thousands out of their life savings. The scheme began in the early 1970s, and by the time Madoff was arrested in December 2008, had defrauded as many as 37,000 people in 136 countries out of up to $65 billion.

His victims included ordinary investors as well as celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Kevin Bacon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel.

Madoff died in a North Carolina prison in April while serving a 150-year prison sentence.

His wife, now-80-year-old Ruth Madoff, has claimed that she and her husband attempted suicide together during the scandal but their attempt failed.

Their son Mark Madoff was found hanging inside his New York City apartment in 2010. He was 46.

Their son Andrew Madoff died of cancer in 2014 at age 48.


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