Jeremy Friehling, the 23-year-old son of Bernard Madoff’s former auditor, David Friehling, has died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The younger Friehling was attending medical school at Ohio State University. Police found his body last Thursday inside his apartment in Columbus, Ohio, after his friends contacted them after some of his Facebook postings aroused concerns about his wellbeing. He was a valedictorian in his high school in New City, N.Y., and was active in sports, according to the
His father, David Friehling, was a partner in the New City, N.Y., accounting firm Friehling & Horowitz, which was the long-time auditing firm for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. Friehling issued yearly audit opinions on Madoff’s investment firm from 1991 to 2008, but admitted that he never conducted any audit or examination of the now-imprisoned Ponzi schemer’s financial statements. The elder Friehling pleaded guilty in November 2009 to charges of securities fraud, investment adviser fraud and obstructing tax law administration. However, he assisted prosecutors and was able to avoid a prison sentence, although he forfeited $3 million from his work for Madoff.
Madoff’s son Mark also committed suicide, hanging himself inside his apartment at the age of 46.
