Who is Mark Madoff?

Mark Madoff was found dead in his home on Saturday December 11^th in Manhattan . He was found hanging in his home and it appears to be a suicide. He was 46 years old. His father in law called 911 at around 7:30 AM and was the one who found Mark. He checked on Mark after he received a phone call from Mark's wife, who was in Florida , asking her father to check on her husband. Mark's two year old son was in the home at the time of the death though not in the same room. It's been reported that Mark hung himself from a pipe with a black dog leash.

Mark Madoff was the oldest son of Bernie Madoff. You may remember that Bernie Madoff was involved in a huge Ponzi scheme that swindled many investors out of billions of dollars. Bernie is now in prison in North Carolina because of it and is serving a 150 year term.

Bernie's family was affected by his stupidity (and some may have even joined in) and it brought a scandal that left the family in an unfavorable light. Mark (along with his brother Andrew) worked at a trading desk at the firm their father worked at, allegedly at a part of the business that wasn't directly connected to the Ponzi scheme. Mark had worked at the company since 1987. Several of his old friends had invested with his father and ultimately lost their life savings. This of course ruined the friendships between Mark and his friends.

Around twelve months ago, a trustee who was trying to make sense of Bernie Madoff's financials sued several Madoff family members (including Mark) and accused them of not uncovering the fraud while they lived high lifestyles that were paid for by their father's fortune, stolen from many investors.

$66 million dollars was the amount Mark Madoff was accused of using to buy lavish homes in New York City and other areas. Mark's wife Stephanie petitioned the court in February because she wanted to change her last name as her family had gotten threats and was embarrassed by the scandal.

Why did Mark kill himself? No one really knows but one could speculate it was either because he was involved in the Ponzi scheme and knew it would come to light or that he couldn't live with the black cloud that was hanging over his family, leaving his families reputation in tatters. No matter the reason, his family is undoubtedly hurting over his death and deserves some time to recover.

Sources:

AOL News: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/official-bernie-madoffs-son-mark-madoff-dead-in-apparent-suicide/19756538?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk3%7C189412

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/12/business/12madoff.html?src=busln