Wall Street fraudster Bernard Madoff 'dying of cancer'

Published on Monday 24 August 2009 17:09

CROOKED financier Bernard Madoff is dying of cancer, it was reported today.

The convicted fraudster told inmates at his North Carolina prison that he does not have long to live, according to the New York Post.

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence for masterminding a massive "Ponzi" pyramid scheme that swindled investors out of billions of dollars.

In June, the 71-year-old was ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting 11 charges of fraud, perjury and false reporting relating to the 65 billion dollar (40 billion) scam.

It resulted in him having to exchange his upmarket Manhattan apartment for a cell in a federal prison.

The New York Post quoted a fellow inmate as stating Madoff is on 20 pills a day while battling the illness.

"He talks about it all the time. He's not doing very well," the unnamed source told the newspaper.

Rumours have previously circulated concerning Madoff's health, with suggestions that he has been fighting pancreatic cancer over the last few months.

Madoff's lawyer Daniel Horowitz did not immediately respond to phone calls regarding the state of his client's health.