Bernie Madoff's elderly sister and brother-in-law found dead in Florida

Authorities were alerted by a 911 call on Thursday in Boynton Beach

By Hanh Nguyen

Senior Editor

Published February 21, 2022 10:39AM (EST)

Bernie Madoff walks out from Federal Court after a bail hearing in Manhattan January 5, 2009 in New York City (Hiroko Masuike/Getty Images)
Bernie Madoff walks out from Federal Court after a bail hearing in Manhattan January 5, 2009 in New York City (Hiroko Masuike/Getty Images)

Sondra Wiener, the sister of Bernie Madoff, and her husband Marvin were found dead on Thursday in their Boynton Beach, Florida home, according to the New York Times.

Deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's office responded to a 911 call and found Weiner, 87, and her husband, 90, dead. 

According to the sheriff's Facebook page and Twitter account, the death "appears to be a murder/suicide." The cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner. 

RELATED: The dark lesson of Bernie Madoff

The social media post also reports that the family invoked Marsy's Law for Marvin, which provides protections for crime victims

Madoff, who was once the chairman of NASDAQ, ran the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He not only defrauded thousands of investors, but his family was also affected by his crimes. His older son Mark died by suicide in December 2010.


Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.


Madoff began serving the maximum 150-year sentence in 2009. He died of chronic kidney disease and other natural causes at age 82 last year in a federal prison hospital.

More to read: 


By Hanh Nguyen

Hanh Nguyen is the Senior Editor of Culture, which covers TV, movies, books, music, podcasts, art, and more. She's an award-winning culture critic whose work has also appeared in IndieWire, TVGuide.com and The Hollywood Reporter. She co-hosts the "Good Pop Culture Club" podcast, which examines the good pop that gets us through our days, from an Asian American perspective.

MORE FROM Hanh Nguyen


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bernie Madoff Brief Ponzi Scheme Sondra Wiener