Bernie Madoff, who is behind the biggest financial fraud in modern history, amounting to tens of billions of dollars, died at the age of 82 in a prison in North Carolina, where he was serving a prison sentence of 150 years.

His Ponzi scheme was based on taking money from new customers to distribute profits or return money to old investors. This fraud was exposed in December 2008 during the financial crisis.

Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2019.

"We confirm that Bernard Madoff died on April 14, 2021, at Buettner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina," an official at the Federal Bureau of Prisons told AFP in an email.

The letter stated that determining the cause of death requires a doctor's opinion.

In February 2020, Madoff's lawyer said the former financier was terminally ill and wanted to leave prison and die peacefully.

Attorney Brandon Sampel explained that Madoff was suffering "from a fatal disease in the kidneys, among other health problems."

"The Prisons Office concluded in September 2019 that Madoff had less than 18 months to live due to inadequate functioning of the two kidneys," Sampel wrote.

The Washington Post reported the same day that Madoff needed a wheelchair and round-the-clock medical attention.

He asked for his release to fix the relationship with his grandchildren and die at his home, but the prison office rejected the request.

The US authorities seized about four billion dollars linked to Madoff and aims to return it to tens of thousands of people affected.