Sister of Ponzi Schemer Bernie Madoff Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide

Sondra Wiener and her husband were both dead as a result of apparent gunshot wounds Thursday afternoon inside their residence

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A couple who died in an apparent murder-suicide in Boynton Beach, Florida, has been identified as the sister of the late Wall Street fraudster and "Ponzi scheme king" Bernie Madoff and her husband.

Deputies responded to a 911 call on Thursday advising that a man and woman were unresponsive inside their residence. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on Sunday identified the couple in social media posts as 87-year-old Sondra Wiener of Boynton Beach and her 90-year-old husband, Marvin.

They were both found to be dead as a result of apparent gunshot wounds Thursday afternoon inside their residence, according to the Associated Press.

“Detectives from the Violent Crimes Division arrived on scene to investigate further. After further investigation it appears to be a murder/suicide,” the Sheriff's Office statement said. Officials said the official cause of death will be determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

Investigators did not say which of the couple was suspected of being the shooter, but the family invoked Marsy’s Law for the elderly man, which allows victims to assert the right to keep personally identifying information confidential.

His name was not released in a statement provided by the sheriff's office, but was disclosed in its social media posts, according to the New York Times.

Bernie Madoff died in prison last year at age 82 and is known for having run the largest investment fraud in U.S. history — a Ponzi scheme that robbed people of as much as $65 billion. He was sentenced to 150 years after pleading guilty in 2009 to fraud and other charges.


If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text TALK to 741741 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources. 

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