Tag:

Ponzi Scheme

Feds Indict Franklin Lakes Real Estate Influencer In Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme Feds Indict Franklin Lakes Real Estate Influencer In Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme
Feds Indict Franklin Lakes Real Estate Influencer In Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme A real estate influencer from Bergen County known as “Flipping NJ” was indicted for running a multi-million-dollar Ponzi-like scheme, laundering drug money, and bribing a Paterson official, federal prosecutors said Thursday, July 10. Cesar Humberto Pina, 47, of Franklin Lakes, misused millions of dollars from investors across the U.S. and laundered drug proceeds while promoting himself through real estate seminars hosted with DJ Envy, a nationally known radio personality, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba said. “Cesar Pina is alleged to have misappropriated millions of dollars of peoples’ hard-earn…
Franklin Lakes Wife Indicted In Notorious House-Flipper Husband's Federal Case Franklin Lakes Wife Indicted In Notorious House-Flipper Husband's Federal Case
Franklin Lakes Wife Indicted In Notorious House-Flipper Husband's Federal Case A New Jersey woman has been indicted in a federal case tied to her husband, a notorious house flipper, after she destroyed her cell phone as law enforcement tried to seize it during a fraud investigation, officials announced. Jennifer Iturralde Pina, 43, of Franklin Lakes, was indicted on a charge of destruction of records in a federal investigation, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced Thursday, July 3. The case stems from a federal investigation involving her husband, Cesar Humberto Pina, 45 — a real estate influencer better known as “Flipping NJ.” Pina gained national attention through r…
Pickleball Company Owner Scammed Hundreds, Owes $47M In Debts: DOJ Pickleball Company Owner Scammed Hundreds, Owes $47M In Debts: DOJ
Pickleball Company Owner Scammed Hundreds, Owes $47M In Debts: DOJ A pickleball company owner accused of running a Ponzi-like scheme won't be able to walk away from more than $47 million in unpaid debts, authorities said. Rodney Grubbs agreed to waive his right to bankruptcy discharge, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday, June 11. Grubbs was the owner of Indiana-based All About Pickleball LLC, also known as Pickleball Rocks. Creditors can continue to go after him for repayment, even after his bankruptcy case is closed. "The USTP is committed to addressing fraudulent and abusive conduct that threatens the integrity of the bankruptcy …
Randolph Duo Admits To $3.2M Ponzi Scheme That Took Locals' Life Savings: Feds Randolph Duo Admits To $3.2M Ponzi Scheme That Took Locals' Life Savings: Feds
Randolph Duo Admits To $3.2M Ponzi Scheme That Took Locals' Life Savings: Feds Dozens of people — including some who handed over their life savings — were defrauded out of more than $3 million by a Randolph couple who now admit to running a Ponzi scheme, according to federal officials. Milendophe Duperier, 33, and Vanessa Joseph, 26, have agreed to plead guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.  Court dates for their plea hearings have not yet been set. According to prosecutors, Duperier posed as an investment advisor, convincing locals to hand over money with the promise it would be used to buy securiti…
FBI In Manhattan Still Searching For ‘Cryptoqueen’ Missing After $4B Scam FBI In Manhattan Still Searching For ‘Cryptoqueen’ Missing After $4B Scam
FBI In Manhattan Still Searching For ‘Cryptoqueen’ Missing After $4B Scam She promised the next Bitcoin. What investors got instead was a $4 billion black hole—and a fugitive who hasn’t been seen since 2017. Ruja Ignatova, the woman once known as the “Cryptoqueen,” remains one of the world’s most elusive fugitives and is currently on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.  The founder of the fraudulent cryptocurrency OneCoin, Ignatova is accused of orchestrating a massive Ponzi-style scheme that duped investors around the globe out of billions. Authorities say the scam began in 2014, when Ignatova launched OneCoin Ltd., a Bulgaria-based company that marketed itself…
$4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says $4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says
$4.3B Now Recovered For Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims, DOJ Says More than $4.3 billion has now been recovered for victims of Bernie Madoff’s massive and infamous Ponzi scheme, the Justice Department announced, as part of a decade-long effort that has compensated over 40,000 people worldwide for nearly 94 percent of their losses. The DOJ says  its 10th and final distribution from the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF), provided more than $131 million to over 23,000 victims. The latest distribution marks the culmination of a decade-long effort to recover and return forfeited funds tied to Madoff's fraudulent investment empire. Most victims, primarily small inv…
Franklin Lakes Wife Destroyed Phone To Obstruct Feds In Husband's High-Profile Probe: Officials Franklin Lakes Wife Destroyed Phone To Obstruct Feds In Husband's High-Profile Probe: Officials
Franklin Lakes Wife Destroyed Phone To Obstruct Feds In Husband's High-Profile Probe: Officials Federal authorities have charged the wife of a Bergen County celebrity house flipper with trying to obstruct an investigation into her husband’s alleged multimillion-dollar Ponzi-like real estate scheme. Jennifer Iturralde Pina, 43, of Franklin Lakes, is accused of attempting to stop a witness from cooperating with investigators and destroying one of her phones as federal agents arrived to seize it, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said this week. The alleged obstruction is linked to an ongoing investigation involving her husband, Cesar Humberto Pina, 45, a real estate influencer better kn…
Disbarred NJ Attorney Admits To Ponzi Scheme That Cost Investors $1 Million: Feds Disbarred NJ Attorney Admits To Ponzi Scheme That Cost Investors $1 Million: Feds
Disbarred NJ Attorney Admits To Ponzi Scheme That Cost Investors $1 Million: Feds A 61-year-old Hillsborough resident pleaded guilty on Wednesday, Oct. 9 to running a Ponzi-like wire fraud scheme that caused losses of more than $1 million, authorities said. Lawrence Coven, who had previously been disbarred as an attorney, operated and controlled Sunrise Enterprises LLC, which purported to provide financial services to investors, US Attorney Philip Sellinger said.  In reality, Coven induced investors into sending him funds by falsely representing that he would invest their money through Sunrise in exchange for large profits by providing short-term loans to borrowers …
NY Man Who 'Lived Large' Off $1 Million Ponzi Scheme Sentenced NY Man Who 'Lived Large' Off $1 Million Ponzi Scheme Sentenced
NY Man Who 'Lived Large' Off $1 Million Ponzi Scheme Sentenced A former New York investment broker has received a lengthy stay in prison for running a million-dollar Ponzi scheme. Long Island resident Rand Heckler, age 67, of Glen Cove, was sentenced to up to seven-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday, May 15, the Nassau County District Attorney (NCDA) announced. Heckler was an investment broker in 2015 when he began his scheme, recommending that his friend and his friend’s son that they invest in a hedge fund of stocks and securities that Heckler was managing. Original Story - $1 Million Ponzi Scheme: Glen Cove Investment Broker Pleads …
‘Crypto Con Man’: Imprisoned Instagrifter Gets 7 Federal Years For $8M Fraud Scheme ‘Crypto Con Man’: Imprisoned Instagrifter Gets 7 Federal Years For $8M Fraud Scheme
‘Crypto Con Man’: Imprisoned Instagrifter Gets 7 Federal Years For $8M Fraud Scheme UPDATE: Imprisoned Instagram influencer “Jay Mazini” apparently thought that rolling on his partners in crime could mitigate the damage of a conviction for scamming investors out of at least $8 million. Three years into a mandatory four-year New Jersey state prison sentence for kidnapping an online critic, the 28-year-old Instagrifter from Bergen County agreed to rat out his friends in exchange for leniency in a federal fraud case in Brooklyn. Trouble is: He didn’t deliver much, authorities said. Mazini, whose real name is Jebara Igbara, ended up sentenced to seven years in federal prison …
Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme
Bergen Biz Partner Of Power 105.1 DJ Envy Busted By Feds In Multi-Million-Dollar Fraud Scheme A New Jersey real estate investor and influencer who's business partners with Power 105.1 DJ Envy was seized early Wednesday by federal agents who charged him with orchestrating a multimillion-dollar Ponzi-like investment scheme. Promising returns that were too good to be true, Cesar Humberto Piña "exploited celebrity status and social media" to scam dozens of people out of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said on Oct. 18. Piña, 45, who lives in the suburban Bergen County town of Franklin Lakes, craftily "developed a devoted following" whom he then victi…
Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Man Sentenced, Must Pay $3.3M In Restitution Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Man Sentenced, Must Pay $3.3M In Restitution
Multi-Million Dollar Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Man Sentenced, Must Pay $3.3M In Restitution A Long Island man has been sentenced to over three years in prison for running a yearslong Ponzi scheme and using the proceeds to pay off his gambling debts, officials announced. John Quadrino, age 57, of Oceanside, was sentenced to 41 months behind bars and ordered to pay $3.3 million in restitution for running a million-dollar Ponzi scheme on Thursday, May 25, according to the Eastern District of New York Attorney’s Office. Quadrino asserted to potential investors that his companies – Princess Cut Industries, Inc., Sassy Jewelry Buyers, Inc., and Golden Glitter Trading, Inc. – sold diam…
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece $4.7M From Investors Gets 8 Years In State Slammer Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece $4.7M From Investors Gets 8 Years In State Slammer
Teaneck Swindler Whose Family Helped Fleece $4.7M From Investors Gets 8 Years In State Slammer UPDATE: A Teaneck con man who was captured after trying to flee the country must spend the next three years in state prison for running a Ponzi scheme with family and friends that fleeced dozens of unwitting investors out of $4.7 million. Chander Singh, 46, reshaped a failed company into an unscrupulous criminal venture by soliciting loans from investors to buy distressed properties, authorities said. Singh promised double-digit returns from what would be renovations of the ratholes, which he found with the help of his parents and brother, all of whom worked as real estate agents, they said…
$6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed $6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed
$6M Ponzi Scheme: Braggart Hedge Fund 'Tycoon' Busted By Undercover NJ Fed The well-heeled hedge fund tycoon from Chicago seemingly couldn’t help but boast of some spectacular achievements during a meeting with an investment manager in New Jersey. There were annual returns of 336 percent, more than $2 billion raised in just 60 days and a list of investors that included a well-known owner of a professional sports team, authorities said. Phillip Galles, 57, also took a page from George Santos’s book, claiming that he’d graduated from a prominent university in the Midwest, they said. Galles’s “outlandish claims of experience, expertise and success” were all BS, a co…
$1 Million Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Investment Broker Pleads Guilty $1 Million Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Investment Broker Pleads Guilty
$1 Million Ponzi Scheme: Long Island Investment Broker Pleads Guilty A man who conned friends and neighbors in order to fund his “luxurious lifestyle” is now facing time behind bars. Rand Heckler, age 67, of Glen Cove, pleaded guilty to running a million-dollar Ponzi scheme where he conned acquaintances and strangers out of hundreds of thousands, the Nassau County District Attorney announced on Friday, April 21. The former investment broker started the scheme in 2015 by recommending that friends invest in a hedge fund of stocks and securities he was managing, the DA said. Between 2015 and 2020, Heckler received 24 checks from his victims totaling over $755…
Ex-Trump PAC Exec Who Blamed 'That B****' Hillary Clinton For Probe Indicted By Feds In NJ Ex-Trump PAC Exec Who Blamed 'That B****' Hillary Clinton For Probe Indicted By Feds In NJ
Ex-Trump PAC Exec Who Blamed 'That B****' Hillary Clinton For Probe Indicted By Feds In NJ A former pro-Trump PAC exec who blamed "that b**** Hillary Clinton" for his troubles with the law swindled more than two dozen investors out of $7 million, an indictment returned Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Newark alleges. U.S. Homeland Security agents a year ago this month smashed the alleged Ponzi scheme that they said New Jersey-based businessman David Schamens, 65, used to fund a lavish lifestyle. Now comes a March 28 indictment that charges him with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering. Schamens, of Greensboro, North Carolina, used some of the investment money fro…
White Plains Man, Partner Sentenced For Roles In $1M Ponzi Scheme White Plains Man, Partner Sentenced For Roles In $1M Ponzi Scheme
White Plains Man, Partner Sentenced For Roles In $1M Ponzi Scheme A Westchester County man and his business partner have been sentenced for their roles in a nearly decade-long $1-million Ponzi scheme. White Plains resident James Doyle, age 74, and Carl Carro, age 61, of Walton, Delaware, were convicted of defrauding investors in New York and throughout the nation. On Thursday, Jan. 12, Carro was sentenced to four to eight years in prison, and Doyle was sentenced to five years probation, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced. As part of their respective sentences, Carro and Doyle agreed to pay a total of more than $1 million in judgments …
Maryland 'Pastor' Convicted For Targeting Religious Investors In $28 Million Ponzi Scheme Maryland 'Pastor' Convicted For Targeting Religious Investors In $28 Million Ponzi Scheme
Maryland 'Pastor' Convicted For Targeting Religious Investors In $28 Million Ponzi Scheme A Maryland man has been convicted of operating a $28 million Ponzi scheme that promised victims personal wealth and financial freedom, authorities announce. Arley Ray Johnson, 63, convinced victims to invest in the company "1st Million", by holding promotional events at upscale hotels and event spaces, attending church-sponsored events, intending to target investments from churchgoers, and representing themselves as religious men more interested in the financial freedom of others than personal financial gain, according to the Department of Justice. Johnson and co-defendants Dennis Mbongeni …
Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims To Get $372M More In Distributions, Feds Announce Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims To Get $372M More In Distributions, Feds Announce
Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims To Get $372M More In Distributions, Feds Announce Thousands of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme victims will be receiving their portions of the latest distribution of more than $370 million. US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced that the Madoff Victim Fund will be distributing approximately $372 million to 40,000 victims worldwide who were involved in the fraud scheme. Earlier Report: Madoff Ponzi Scheme Victims To Get Nearly $500M More In Distributions To date, approximately $4 billion has been distributed to Madoff’s victims. Williams said that this eighth payment will bring the victims’ total re…
Decomposed Body Found In Connecticut Home ID'd As Ponzi Swindler, Jeffrey Epstein Mentor Decomposed Body Found In Connecticut Home ID'd As Ponzi Swindler, Jeffrey Epstein Mentor
Decomposed Body Found In Connecticut Home ID'd As Ponzi Swindler, Jeffrey Epstein Mentor A body found in a Connecticut home during a welfare check has positively been identified as Steven Hoffenberg, a longtime mentor of Jeffrey Epstein. Hoffenberg, the one-time owner of the New York Post and businessman who spent 18 years in prison for a $460 million Ponzi scheme, was found in the New Haven County home around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23, in the city of Derby. According to the Derby Police, the medical examiner's office confirmed on Friday, Aug. 26, that the badly decomposed body was that of Hoffenberg.  An initial autopsy did not find signs of trauma on the body, the…
NY Man Sentenced For Role In $12M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Nearly 50 Victims NY Man Sentenced For Role In $12M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Nearly 50 Victims
NY Man Sentenced For Role In $12M Ponzi Scheme Targeting Nearly 50 Victims A New York man was sentenced for his role in a $12 million Ponzi scheme that targeted nearly 50 victims from throughout the region and the nation between 2015 and 2017. Long Island resident Matthew Eckstein, age 52, of Syosset, was sentenced on Monday, July 11 to three-and-a-half to 10-and-a-half years in prison. Eckstein originally pleaded guilty to the charges on September 26, 2019, but later withdrew his plea. A new indictment was secured in August 2020, but court closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic further delayed the case. “This defendant preyed upon seniors and hard-working men…
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Ponzi-Like Fraud Scheme Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Ponzi-Like Fraud Scheme
Hudson Valley Man Sentenced For Ponzi-Like Fraud Scheme A Hudson Valley man will spend years behind bars after being busted for operating a multi-million dollar investment club that was actually a Ponzi scheme targeting a Haitian community, federal authorities announced. Rockland County resident Ruless Pierre, age 52, of Nanuet, has been sentenced to 84 months in prison in connection to a Ponzi-like securities fraud scheme that targeted his own community in the region. Specifically, Pierre was convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud, and structuring offenses by a jury in May 2021. US Attorney Damian Williams said that between 2016 and 2019, P…
NJ FEDS: Miracle-Aspirin Investment Scam Sends Long Island Man To Prison For 4½ Years NJ FEDS: Miracle-Aspirin Investment Scam Sends Long Island Man To Prison For 4½ Years
NJ Feds: Miracle-Aspirin Investment Scam Sends Long Island Man To Prison For 4½ Years A Long Island man must spend the next 4½ years in prison for scamming investors out of $3.5 million through what he claimed was a revolutionary new aspirin, federal authorities in New Jersey said. Donald A. Milne III, a 57-year-old repeat offender from Massapequa, defrauded more than 70 victims from throughout the country, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. All thought they'd invested in what he touted as a “fast-acting form of powdered aspirin that could instantly stop heart attacks and strokes," Sellinger said. Milne used the money instead for a Caribbean vacation, boating expe…
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere
Feds: Ponzi Schemer Funded House, Car, More With $6.8M From Investors In NJ, Elsewhere New Jersey residents were among more than two dozen victims who lost a combined $6.8 million to a North Carolina con man running a Ponzi scheme, federal authorities charged. David Schamens, 64, of Greensboro, NC, promised annual return rates of 12% to 30% when he began soliciting investments in 2014 in Secaucus-based TradeStream Analytics LTD, as well as in other entities with names such as TD Trading LLC, TFG Trading LLC, and Tradedesk Financial Group Inc., U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. He then launched Tradestream Algo Fund, an algorithm-based trading pool that he clai…
Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeting Investors, Authorities Say Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeting Investors, Authorities Say
Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeting Investors, Authorities Say Several New Jersey seniors were scammed out of more than $1 million combined by a Long Island couple, Garden State authorities have charged. Salvatore Magaraci, age 63, and A. Kirsten Gallardo, age 60, of Huntington, specifically targeted elderly victims to pitch unregistered securities to for a crooked – and now-defunct -- company, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The Woodbridge Group of Companies purported to be a commercial lender that made hard-money loans secured by mortgages on commercial property. It ended up being ordered to pay $1 billion -- and saw its…
Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors
Authorities: Long Island Couple In $1 Million Securities Scam Targeted Elderly NJ Investors Several New Jersey seniors were scammed out of more than $1 million combined by a Long Island couple, Garden State authorities have charged. Salvatore Magaraci, 63, and A. Kirsten Gallardo, 60, of Huntington, NY specifically targeted elderly victims to pitch unregistered securities to for a crooked – and now defunct -- company, Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck said. The Woodbridge Group of Companies purported to be a commercial lender that made hard-money loans secured by mortgages on commercial property. It ended up being ordered to pay $1 billion -- and saw its foun…
NY Con Man Admits Scamming $3.5M From Elderly Investors In NJ, Elsewhere For Heart Attack Pill NY Con Man Admits Scamming $3.5M From Elderly Investors In NJ, Elsewhere For Heart Attack Pill
NY Con Man Admits Scamming $3.5M From Elderly Investors In NJ, Elsewhere For Heart Attack Pill A convicted con artist from Long Island admitted in federal court in Trenton on Monday that he scammed investors in a purportedly revolutionary new aspirin -- most of them elderly -- out of $3.5 million that he used as his own personal piggybank. Donald A. Milne III, a 57-year-old repeat offender from Massapequa, defrauded more than 70 victims from throughout the country who though they'd invested in Instaprin, which he touted as a “fast-acting form of powdered aspirin that could instantly stop heart attacks and strokes," Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He used the money instead…
Long Island Man Admits To $4.7M Mortgage-Fraud Scheme Long Island Man Admits To $4.7M Mortgage-Fraud Scheme
Long Island Man Admits To $4.7M Mortgage-Fraud Scheme An unlicensed mortgage broker on Long Island has admitted to his role in a multi-million dollar Ponzi-like scheme to defraud his clients, federal officials announced. Commack resident Brent Kaufman, age 50, pleaded guilty to stealing $4.7 million in mortgage refinancing proceeds that were meant to pay off the existing mortgages of his clients. Acting US Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis said Kaufman worked as an unlicensed mortgage broker and assisted clients in Queens and Long Island with refinancing their mortgages. At the closing for a mortgage refinancing, the money from the new mortgage is …
Hudson Valley Man Convicted For Running Multimillion-Dollar Ponzi, Embezzlement Schemes Hudson Valley Man Convicted For Running Multimillion-Dollar Ponzi, Embezzlement Schemes
Hudson Valley Man Convicted For Running Multimillion-Dollar Ponzi, Embezzlement Schemes A Hudson Valley man has been convicted for operating a multimillion-dollar investment club that was actually a Ponzi scheme. Rockland County resident Ruless Pierre, age 51, of Nanuet, was convicted in Manhattan federal court of securities fraud, wire fraud, and structuring charges on Thursday, May 27. According to the allegations contained in the complaint, indictment, and the evidence presented at trial: From at least November 2016 through October 2019, Pierre solicited money from investors of Ruless Pierre Consulting Group by falsely promising them that he would earn a 20 percent return…
NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen
NJ Con Man Who Swindled Elderly Out Of $2M Headed To Fed Pen A confessed Somerset County con man is headed to federal prison for 6½ years for swindling elderly investors out of $2 million that he used, in part, to pay for his daughter’s college tuition and sorority fees. For nearly a decade, ex-financial advisor Daniel Rivera, 51, told primarily elderly investors that his Robbins Lane Properties was “staffed by experienced real estate professionals, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Rivera promised a “guaranteed monthly income” thanks to a rate of return based on secure investments, she added. The truth, Honig said, was: “Robbins Lane had …
'Not A Single Human Being Will Shed A Tear': Infamous Ponzi Schemer Madoff Dies In Fed Pen 'Not A Single Human Being Will Shed A Tear': Infamous Ponzi Schemer Madoff Dies In Fed Pen
'Not A Single Human Being Will Shed A Tear': Infamous Ponzi Schemer Madoff Dies In Fed Pen He stole from the rich, from the poor and from plenty of others in-between. Bernie Madoff, the most notorious Ponzi schemer in history, has died in federal prison, according to reports. “Bernie Madoff is dead. There is not a single human being on this earth who will shed a tear,” columnist Joe Nocera tweeted Wednesday morning. Madoff, 82, was serving a 150-year sentence without parole at a North Carolina penitentiary for defrauding thousands of people of billions of dollars in the largest Ponzi scheme ever prosecuted. The Associated Press said a source with direct knowledge of the matter c…