Sondra Wiener was Bernie Madoff’s older sister. On February 17, 2022, she and her husband Marvin were found shot to death in the garage of their home in the Valencia Lakes community near Boynton Beach, Florida. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office ruled the deaths a murder-suicide, and later reporting identified Sondra, 87, as the shooter, with Marvin, 90, as the victim before she turned the gun on herself.1New York Post. Home Where Bernie Madoff’s Sister Killed Herself, Husband Asks $550K
What Happened in Boynton Beach
Deputies were dispatched at about 12:55 p.m. after a 911 call reporting a man and woman unresponsive inside the Valencia Lakes residence.2Miami Herald. Bernie Madoff’s Sister Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide They found both Wieners dead of gunshot wounds in the garage.3CNN. Bernie Madoff’s Sister and Her Husband Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide The Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Division worked the scene and concluded it was a murder-suicide, leaving formal cause-of-death findings to the medical examiner.4NBC Miami. Bernie Madoff’s Sister Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in Boynton Beach Authorities did not release a motive.
Sondra Wiener Was a Madoff Victim
Despite being the fraudster’s sister, Sondra lost money in the scheme. According to her son David Wiener, she and Marvin were out about $3 million.2Miami Herald. Bernie Madoff’s Sister Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide “My family’s a victim. More so than anybody else. It’s very painful,” David told the Washington Post in 2009.5Washington Post. Bernie Madoff’s Sister Sondra Wiener Found Dead in Murder-Suicide
The fallout showed up quickly in the couple’s living arrangements. In January 2009, weeks after Bernie’s arrest, Sondra listed her three-bedroom home at the Ballen Isles Country Club, a gated Palm Beach community, for about $850,000.6New York Magazine. Oh, Brother: Bernie Madoff’s Latest Victim Is His Sister Federal authorities had even confiscated her Hanukkah presents. The house sold that May at a $75,000 loss, and in December 2009 the Wieners paid $315,000 for the Valencia Lakes home where they would live out the next thirteen years.2Miami Herald. Bernie Madoff’s Sister Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide
The Trustee’s Clawback Case
The trustee winding down Madoff’s firm took a very different view of Sondra’s role. On November 26, 2010, Irving H. Picard, the SIPA trustee for the liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, sued Sondra and Marvin Wiener in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Picard alleged Sondra had “profited for decades” from the Ponzi scheme, receiving a guaranteed annual return of at least 20 percent on her accounts from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, and that she had taken a $1 million loan from the firm that was never repaid.7PR Newswire. Madoff Trustee Announces Lawsuit Filings Against Madoff and Alpern Family Members and BLMIS Employees A March 2012 filing said the couple had received at least $1,715,000 of other investors’ money between December 2002 and December 2008.8Palm Beach Post. Trustee for Madoff Victims Files Lawsuits
Sondra’s legal position sat on both sides of the fraud at once: a family member who said she lost millions, and a defendant the trustee accused of pocketing millions in fictitious profits. The public record in the file does not show a resolution of the clawback case before her death.
The Wider Madoff Family Toll
The Wieners’ deaths came after more than a decade of losses inside Bernie Madoff’s immediate family. His elder son, Mark Madoff, was found dead by suicide on December 11, 2010, two years to the day after Bernie’s arrest. His younger son, Andrew, died of lymphoma in 2014 at 48. Ruth Madoff later said she and Bernie had attempted suicide on Christmas Eve 2008. Bernie’s brother, Peter Madoff, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and falsifying records and was sentenced in 2012 to ten years. Bernie died in federal prison in April 2021 at 82 while serving a 150-year sentence.9NBC News. What Happened to Bernie Madoff’s Family
Richard Rampell, a retired Palm Beach accountant who worked with six Madoff victims, told a local outlet after the Wieners were found: “I think it’s pretty much ended now. Another sad chapter in it, but it’s done.”10WFLX. Accountant for Madoff Victims Calls Sondra Wiener’s Death Sad Chapter
The Home After the Deaths
In July 2022, the Valencia Lakes house was listed for sale at $550,000. The waterfront property has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, roughly 2,170 square feet, and was built in 1997. The listing agent was the couple’s son Charles Wiener, working through RE/MAX Advantage Plus.1New York Post. Home Where Bernie Madoff’s Sister Killed Herself, Husband Asks $550K