THE late Bernie Madoff had suffered greatly in the years leading up to his death at age 82.
From the tragic death of his sister, to losing both of his sons after his crimes, a new Netflix docuseries, entitled Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, looks at Madoff's rise and fall.
Sondra Wiener's death came just a year after Madoff himself died in prison following his 150-year sentence for an epic securities swindle.
And it follows the death of both of the Ponzi schemer's sons.
Bernie's eldest son Mark died by suicide on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest in 2010.
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He was found hanged in his Manhattan apartment after reports said he'd sent a desperate email to his wife.
'MONSTROUS' CRIME
His lawyer, Martin Flumenbaum, said at the time that Mark was "an innocent victim of his father's monstrous crime."
Four years later Madoff’s other son, Andrew, died from cancer at age 48.
Bernie's wife Ruth - who stuck by her Wall Street fraudster husband - was last thought to be living in Connecticut.
Madoff’s brother, Peter, who helped run the business, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012, despite claims he was in the dark about his brother’s misdeeds.
He was released to home confinement in November 2019. That ended in August 2020.
Now reports say Sondra was found dead in what investigators said was an apparent murder-suicide in Florida.
The 86-year-old and an elderly man initially named by Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office as her husband Marvin, 90, were found with gunshot wounds in the Valencia Lakes, Florida, home.
Police later the family “had invoked Marsy’s Law for the male." That law helps provide protection for victims of crime.
PONZI SCHEME
Her brother Bernie was infamously known for orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities.
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Sondra even reportedly lost around $3million to her brother's scam and was forced to put her house in Florida on the market at the time, according to New York Magazine.
Bernie was sentenced to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges.
For decades, he enjoyed an image as a self-made financial guru whose Midas touch defied market fluctuations.
A former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market, he attracted a devoted legion of investment clients.
That included Florida retirees to celebrities including Steven Spielberg, Kevin Bacon and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax.
But his investment advisory business was exposed in 2008 as a Ponzi scheme that wiped out people’s fortunes and ruined charities.
BULLETPROOF VEST
He became so hated he wore a bulletproof vest to court.
The fraud was believed to be the largest in Wall Street’s history.
Prosecutors estimated the fraud to be worth $64.8billion based on the amounts in the accounts of Madoff's 4,800 clients as of November 2008.
Madoff pleaded guilty in March 2009 to securities fraud and other charges, saying he was “deeply sorry and ashamed.”
After several months living under house arrest at his $7million Manhattan penthouse apartment, he was led off to jail in handcuffs.
VICTIMS CHEATED
“He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in-between. He had no values,” former investor Tom Fitzmaurice told the judge at the sentencing.
“He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife could live a life of luxury beyond belief.”
Sondra's son David told The New York Post in 2009: "My family’s a victim. More so than anybody else."
"It’s very painful,” he added.
