Andrew H. Madoff, son of convicted financier Bernie Madoff, dies at 48

Andrew Madoff had been battling mantle cell lymphoma. He was 48.

Madoff’s eldest son, Mark Madoff, committed suicide in 2010 after being unable to cope with the disgrace of the huge Ponzi scheme his father had orchestrated. Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina.

Andrew Madoff, who ran the market-making business of the Madoff broker-dealer operation, had long claimed that he never knew that his father’s investment firm was bogus and would cause some $18 billion in losses. He said that he and his brother turned in their father in December 2008 after Bernard Madoff confessed to them as the scam fell apart amid the financial crisis. Andrew Madoff remained adamant that he would never forgive his father, but he did reconcile with his mother, Ruth Madoff, after she cut off ties with Bernard.

Still, questions have always lingered about what Andrew Madoff did know. He was never charged with committing a crime, but there had recently been reports that a federal criminal investigation was still looking into Andrew Madoff’s involvement with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. As part of his lawsuit against Andrew Madoff, Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee of the investment firm, this summer claimed Andrew Madoff and his brother created phony accounts and received payments disguised as loans.

A photo from 2011 shows Andrew Madoff with his fiancee Catherine Hooper and his mother Ruth.

Andrew Madoff is pictured with his daughters, Anne and Emily, from his first marriage

“As Madoff’s sons, the Madoff Brothers had special access to information about BLMIS’s operations and activities, including their own investment accounts, which demonstrated the company was engaged in fraud,” Picard claimed. “They knew of, and willfully blinded themselves to, the clear indicia of fraudulent activity in BLMIS’s IA Business for their personal benefit.”

Andrew Madoff, however, always denied such accusations and consistently blamed his father for destroying their family. “Even on my deathbed I will never forgive him for what he did,” Andrew Madoff said.