The alarm was raised at Mark Madoff’s New York apartment One of convicted US fraudster Bernard Madoff’s sons has been found dead in New York in an apparent suicide, media reports say.
Mark Madoff, 46, was found hanged in his Manhattan apartment on the second anniversary of his father’s arrest.
Mark Madoff and his brother Andrew were both being investigated in the case but have not been charged.
Bernard Madoff admitted last year defrauding thousands of investors through a $65bn (£41bn) Ponzi scheme.
The scheme pays out using new investors’ money rather than from any profits.
Bernard Madoff, 72, is serving a 150-year prison term.
The official told AP that a family member had notified police of the incident in the Soho district at around 0730 local time (1230 GMT) on Saturday.
Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year prison term Mark and Andrew Madoff worked on a trading desk for the family firm, in a part of the business not thought to be directly involved in the Ponzi scheme. They and other family members have denied being aware of it.
Mark Madoff’s wife this year asked a court to allow her to change her surname, citing threats to the family.
On Friday, the trustee charged with recovering funds for the victims of Bernard Madoff’s fraud filed lawsuits seeking nearly $20bn in damages.
Irving Picard has charged nearly 60 people, including a number of major banks.
Mark Madoff was also being sued for failing to protect investor assets.
A friend and associate of Bernard Madoff, Jeffry Picower, who was also being sued, was found dead in a swimming pool at his Florida home in October, although the case remains unresolved.
The Ponzi scheme, which had been running since the early 1990s, unravelled when Bernard Madoff’s investors tried to withdraw about $7bn at the height of the economic downturn. He could not produce the money.
Last month, an auction of the possessions of the disgraced financier and his wife was held in New York, raising more than $2m that will go to more than 3,000 clients who lost money through the scheme.
When the fraudster was arrested two years ago, US marshals seized everything he owned and will sell it all.
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