Bernie Madoff Victim Commits Suicide: Charles Murphy Plunges To Death In NYC

RTX1JA3P — A bouquet of roses lays at the spot where 17-year-old Vonzell Banks was shot and killed in the Bronzeville neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, July 4, 2015. Reuters

A hedge fund executive leaped to his death from the luxury Sofitel hotel in New York City Monday afternoon, authorities said. In doing so, Charles Murphy, 55, became the fourth person to commit suicide after losing billions in Bernie Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

Murphy, who owned a multimillion-dollar townhouse, jumped from a room he had rented on the 24th floor in Midtown Manhattan around 4:42 p.m. local time. He was found on a terrace 20 stories below wearing a dark business suit, according to police sources. Murphy was pronounced dead at the scene when police arrived shortly after 5 p.m.

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The company for which Murphy was a hedge fund manager — Paulson & Co. — released a brief statement upon hearing the news.

“We are extremely saddened by this news. Charles was an extremely gifted and brilliant man, a great partner and a true friend. Our deepest prayers are with his family,” the statement said.

Before Paulson & Co., Murphy was employed by the Fairfield Greenwich Group, a hedge fund that did business with Madoff, according to the New York Daily News. Murphy invested $7 billion into Madoff's Ponzi scheme before it collapsed in 2008, leaving Murphy without a job. Overall, Fairfield squandered nearly $50 million when Madoff's Ponzi scheme was exposed, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many investors in connection with the Madoff Ponzi scheme have committed suicide in the past.

In 2010, Madoff’s eldest son, Mark, 46, was hanged himself in his SoHo apartment. Another investor, William Foxton, 65, committed suicide in 2009 because he was ashamed of his financial status. Rene-Thierry Magon De La Villehuchet, a French aristocrat, whose firm had lost $1.5 billion, also committed suicide in his Manhattan office in 2008.

Murphy is survived by his second wife, Annabella Murphy. It was not immediately clear if that couple had any children. Murphy and his ex-wife had two children together.