Fraudster Madoff moved to prison hospital

NEW YORK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Bernard Madoff has been moved to the medical wing at the North Carolina prison where he is serving a 150-year sentence for fraud, authorities say.

Madoff, 71, who has been at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, N.C., was transferred to the Federal Medical Center Friday, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Neither Madoff's lawyer, Ira Sorkin, nor prison spokeswoman Cathy Elsea would reveal the reason for the move, ABC said.

"The potential reasons for an inmate to transfer are numerous," Elsea told ABC News, "and we do not release those specific reasons."

The Federal Prison Guidebook names the Butner medical center as a special facility for the treatment of cancer, The Wall St. Journal reported.

Federal sentencing attorney, Alan Ellis said the North Carolina facility "one of the crown jewels of the federal prison system."