Madoff Isn't Dying of Cancer—Or Even Diagnosed, Prison Official Says
Updated: Bernard Madoff, serving 150 years in a North Carolina prison for a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, has reportedly told other inmates he is dying of cancer.
In an unusual comment on an individual inmate’s health, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons says Madoff not only isn’t terminally ill but hasn’t even been diagnosed with cancer, reports the DealBook blog of the New York Times.
Madoff told inmates he doesn’t have much longer to live, the New York Post reported earlier today. One inmate said Madoff takes about 20 pills a day for his illness.
When the early cancer report surfaced, some suggested it could explain why Madoff was so quick to take the blame for the scheme. He even revealed details of the investment fraud to plaintiffs lawyers.
A cancer diagnosis could also have explained another report from inmates: Madoff is participating in weekly Native American prayer services that use heated rocks to induce sweating, a process thought to detoxify the body.
But, on the other hand, Madoff might have gotten less time if he had disclosed before sentencing that he was dying, notes the Telegraph.
Madoff was charged only last December, when his sons alerted officials that their father had confessed to them that he was running “a giant Ponzi scheme.” The sons, who held senior positions at the firm, first reported the scheme to a lawyer from Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, who alerted federal prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Hat tip to the Daily Deal and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Additional coverage:
London Times: “Prison officials reject Madoff cancer claim”
Reuters: “Feds: Madoff ‘has not been diagnosed with cancer’ “
Last updated at 4:55 p.m. to include and accord with most recent information from federal prisons spokeswoman in DealBook and Telegraph coverage.
