NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Those who lost money by investing in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme say his death is the close of a sad and difficult chapter.
The mastermind behind one of the nation's biggest Ponzi schemes died of natural causes at federal prison in North Carolina. He was 82.
The news of his death is bittersweet, said Ilene Kent, whose elderly parents were among Madoff's victims.
Kent said her father, a doctor on Long Island, was never the same after losing a significant amount of money to the Ponzi schemer.
"The last 10 years he was just a shell," Kent said. "He considered himself a failure as a human being for not having seen this."
Kent said her parents, who both died in the last six weeks, never got the chance to enjoy the retirement they envisioned for themselves after decades of hard work.
"It just did a number on their head that they didn't have the same lifestyle they thought they would the last years of their lives," Kent said.
She also puts a lot of blame on the government for not catching Madoff sooner.
"We want people to understand this was a total government failure in that it affected so many lives. There was nobody there to protect the consumer," Kent said. "The government failed us."
In the years since, Kent started up a victims advocacy organization.
"I would talk to a lot of victims and a lot of family, and their biggest concern was not leaving legacies for their kids," she said. "There were suicides because of this, there were immigrants or children of immigrants who came, built businesses, lost everything."
Kent said she's not "jumping up and down" over Madoff's death, but adds, "I'm not shedding a tear."
Madoff was denied compassionate release last year in the early stages of the pandemic, as the prosecution said he hadn't shown that same compassion to his victims.
In his failed bid, Madoff told The Washington Post that he had suffered through his 11 years in prison.
While around 70% of Madoff's losses have been recovered, Kent maintains the money has been distributed unfairly.