(JTA) — Mark Madoff, the son of disgraced Jewish financier Bernard Madoff, was found dead in what is believed to have been a suicide.
The Associated Press quoted New York police as saying that Madoff, 46, was found hanging Saturday in his Manhattan apartment.
Bernard Madoff is serving 150 years in prison for what is believed to be the largest Ponzi scheme — investors see returns only when new investors are lured in — in history.
A number of major Jewish organizations profited from and were victims of the scheme. Hadassah this week said it would repay $45 million to the court-appointed trustee of Madoff’s estate, who is seeking to distribute equitably what is left of the scheme’s funds.
Madoff’s sons, who reportedly turned in their father, have not been charged in the scheme, and the elder Madoff said it occurred without their knowledge.
However, Mark and Andrew Madoff were under investigation, and the trustee had sued them for profiting from the business without adequately investigating how it was making money.
