One of convicted US fraudster Bernard Madoff's three sons was yesterday found dead in New York in an apparent suicide.

Mark Madoff (46), was found hanged in his Manhattan apartment, a law enforcement official told reporters.

Mark Madoff and his younger brother Andrew were being investigated in the case that saw their father jailed.

Bernard Madoff admitted last year to defrauding thousands of investors through a Ponzi scheme.

The scheme pays out using new investors' money rather than from any profits. Bernard Madoff is serving a 150-year prison term.

Neither of the sons had been charged.

The official said that a family member had notified police of the incident, at a luxury apartment in SoHo, at around 7.30am local time (1230 GMT).

It came a day after the trustee charged with recovering funds for the victims of Bernard Madoff's fraud filed lawsuits seeking nearly $20bn (€16bn) in damages.

Irving Picard has charged nearly 60 people, including a number of major banks.

The Ponzi scheme, which had been running since the early 1990s, unravelled when Bernard Madoff's investors tried to withdraw about $7bn at the height of the economic downturn. He could not produce the money.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Andrew Madoff was currently the head of operations at Black Umbrella, a consulting firm started after the Madoff scandal.