Bernie Madoff, pictured in 2009 ahead of his entering a guilty plea. (Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

(JTA) — The sister and brother-in-law of Bernie Madoff, the hedge fund manager who ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme that counted a number of major Jewish nonprofits among its victims, died in an apparent murder-suicide.

Sondra Wiener, 87, and Marvin Wiener, 90, were found dead at their home in Boynton Beach, Florida Thursday. The cause,  local police said, was gunshot wounds. A motive was not made public.

Madoff, whose crimes were discovered in December 2008, died in prison last year at 82 after being sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009. The investors defrauded in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme included Yeshiva University, elite Orthodox Jewish day schools in New York and Boston, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and other Jewish organizations and family foundations.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Sondra and Marvin Wiener were among Madoff’s victims, having lost several million dollars in the Ponzi scheme, their son told reporters at the time the scheme became public.

Wiener was not the first member of the family to make a suicide attempt in the years following Madoff’s arrest. Bernie Madoff and his wife, Ruth, attempted suicide in Dec. 2008 but survived. Madoff’s son Mark, who worked with his father, died by suicide in 2010 on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest.

—
The post Bernie Madoff’s sister and brother-in-law found dead in apparent murder-suicide appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount