Bernie Madoff Sends Clemency Request To Trump

Convicted ponzi schemer Bernard "Bernie" Madoff is reaching out to the Department of Justice for clemency, according to CNBC. 

Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence, and it is reasonable to assume the 81-year-old disgraced financier will live out his last days in prison. But on Wednesday, CNBC reported that he filed a request for a sentence commutation, or reduction, with the Justice Department. 

The agency didn't confirm with CNBC when the request was submitted; it is labeled as "pending" on the Justice Department's web site.

Ira Lee Sorkin, Madoff's ex-lawyer, told CNBC he has no knowledge of the request.

Peter Madoff, Bernie's younger brother, has approximately three years left of his 10-year sentence for falsifying records at the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities firm in New York, according to CNBC.

Madoff's wife Ruth was never charged in connection to the financial scheme.

Madoff's two sons have both died since the ponzi scheme was made public. One son, Mark, committed suicide in 2010. Madoff's other son, Andrew, died in 2014 from a rare form of cancer, CNBC said.

President Donald Trump has so far granted 10 pardons and four commutations during his presidency. Data gathered by CNBC shows the government has received 1,003 petitions for pardons and another 5,657 for sentence commutations in that time. 

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Justice Department photo via Wikimedia.