Reports: Madoff's Accountant's Son Commits Suicide In Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (CBSNewYork) -- The son of Bernie Madoff's accountant committed suicide earlier this week in Ohio, according to published reports.
Jeremy Friehling, 23, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Columbus, Ohio, according to the New York Daily News.
Friehling's father, David Friehling, pleaded guilty in 2009 to nine federal counts for helping hide Madoff's $65 million fraud, according to the Journal News.
Police in Columbus went to Jeremy Friehling's apartment after friends became worried about him, the Journal News reported. He had been making erratic comments on his newly-opened Facebook account all day, the newspaper reported.
Friehling, of the Rockland County community of New City, Clarkstown, had been attending medical school at Ohio State University after getting his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 2011, the Journal News reported. He was the valedictorian of the 2007 graduating class at Clarkstown High School, the newspaper reported.
David Friehling has admitted to filing false statements for 17 years with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Madoff's behalf. He is currently set to be sentenced in April 2013, although his sentencing has been postponed multiple times as he has cooperated with authorities, the Journal News reported.
Madoff's son, Mark Madoff, committed suicide in December 2010 inside his SoHo loft. Bernie Madoff's wife, Ruth, told "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer last year that she and her husband also attempted suicide together after Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme was discovered.
