Pat Dollard

Tweet

Times Online:

Bernard Madoff, the disgraced financier accused of the biggest fraud in corporate history, was accused of having ‘blood on his hands’ after an Army officer killed himself over the loss of his family’s life savings.

William Foxton OBE, who lost his arm in combat and worked on humanitarian missions for the United Nations, shot himself in the head after losing his life savings in the £35 billion ($50bn) alleged Ponzi scheme.

The 65-year-old, who served in the French Foreign Legion, the British Army, before working for the Sultan of Oman and on UN missions, was distraught after Madoff’s suspected fraud was exposed in December.

He killed himself in a small park near his home in Southampton, Hants, on Tuesday afternoon. People outside the nearby city magistrates’ court heard the gunshot, said police.

The son of William Foxton, 65, said his father was so distraught after losing his family’s entire savings in the alleged Ponzi scheme that he shot himself in a park in Southampton on Tuesday with a handgun.

Mr Madoff, 70, is under penthouse arrest and 24-hour surveillance after being arrested on December 11. He was accused of one count of securities fraud after authorities said he admitted to running a scheme over many years with losses of $50 billion.

Willard Foxton from London, said that his father, a grandfather of two, was “brought low by the greed of Bernie Madoff”.

“I spoke with my father recently and he confided in me that he was in ‘an absolute s***fight’ with his banks’, as his life savings had been invested in two hedge funds; the Herald USA Fund and Herald Luxembourg Fund,” Mr Foxton said.

“He had found out that the offices of these funds had closed and that the money had in fact been invested in the Madoff Hedge funds.

“I think it’s disgusting that Bernie Madoff is sitting in his New York property, thinking that all he did was steal money when, in fact, what he was really doing was ruining lives.

“I feel a little helpless at the moment. Essentially I want Madoff and others involved in Herald funds to know that they have my father’s blood on their hands,” he said.

Mr Foxton served with the French Foreign Legion before joining the British Army in 1969 and working his way up to major.

The father-of-two had his arm replaced with a metal artificial limb and after leaving the forces in 1986 was made an MBE for services to the disabled.

He later worked in the Balkans for the United Nations where he was head of the European Commission Monitoring Mission during the Yugoslavian wars. He was awarded an OBE in 1999.

His last overseas trip was running humanitarian projects in Afghanistan before his retirement last year.

Earlier this week, Mr Madoff, the disgraced financier accused of the biggest fraud in corporate history, agreed to a partial judgment in the civil case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC) without admitting or denying fraud charges.