Report: Madoff Battling Cancer, Recovering From Heart Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Bernard Madoff, who pleaded guilty to running the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, recently suffered a heart attack and has been diagnosed with kidney cancer, according to a report.
CNBC reported that Madoff, 75, is back in prison after being hospitalized for a heart attack last month.
The fraudster also told the business network he's battling stage-4 kidney cancer but is not receiving dialysis. That diagnosis means the cancer may have spread to nearby organs or lymph nodes, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Madoff confirmed his health woes to CNBC in an email.
He was treated at Duke University Medical Center in December after suffering a heart attack. He is now back behind bars at a medium security federal prison in Butner, N.C., CNBC reported.
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 for bilking investors of $65 billion. He ran his operation out of an office in the Lipstick Building in Midtown Manhattan.
Five of Madoff's former employees are currently on trial for fraud stemming from the massive Ponzi scheme.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion in criminal and civil penalties - the largest ever settlement - for ignoring signs that Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme. JPMorgan was Madoff's primary bank through which he operated since 1986.
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