Legendary actor Robert De Niro has been cast to play Wall Street investor and scam artist Bernie Madoff in the first major film to be made about the infamous $65 billion ponzi scheme.

As well as starring, De Niro is also producing the film through his production company, Tribeca Productions, with partner Jane Rosenthall. The film is set to debut through HBO, and is based on the book The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust, penned by New York Times writer Diana B. Henriques.

HBO has also obtained the rights to another book about the scammer, Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family by Laurie Sandell. The book was written with the cooperation of Madoff’s son, Andrew, despite the suicide of eldest Madoff son Mark in reaction to the scandal.

The film’s screenplay is being handled by Reservation Road author John Burnham Schwartz. As the project is still in very early stages, any release details are yet unknown.

Madoff was arrested for his scheme in 2008 and is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence.

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