Confession ... A man has been charged after confessing to ripping off his family and friends and then surviving his suicide attempt. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

The New York Post reports that Charles A. Bennett was busted for running the fraud after police discovered his suicide manifesto — which he left behind when he tried to kill himself on November 3, according to a criminal complaint, filed in Manhattan Federal court.

In the note, aptly titled, A Sad Ending to My Life, Bennett admitted he swiped his friends’ and family members’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

“I have systematically over the course of five years perpetrated a huge Ponzi scheme enveloping my family and closest friends,” Bennett proclaims in the suicide note, the complaint states.

“I managed to completely squander the hard-earned money that my family and dear friends had set aside over the course of their working lives … The whole investment … was in fact complete fiction,” he confessed.

“The bulk of the funds were used in classic Ponzi scheme fashion to pay off other ‘investors’ and my absurd lifestyle,” he wrote.

“It was all an illusion — not one trade was ever done.”

Bennett was fished out of the river after he jumped from a pier in New York. Police discovered the note, and Bennett was charged with fraud for allegedly scamming 30 investors since 2008.

On Friday, a magistrate judge allowed him to continue recuperating in hospital without handcuffs until a bail hearing, which would be held 24 hours before he’s scheduled to be released.

Bennett participated in the hearing by video conference call from Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hospital, where he’s recovering from a ruptured lung.

Prosecutor Amy Lester called him a flight risk due to his suicide bid.

“Some might say he already took the ultimate risk to avoid prosecution by attempting to commit suicide,” Ms Lester said.

“He did believe the jig was up. He does reference (in the note) knowing he would likely face a long prison sentence and that he can’t cope with it and was seeking another way out.”

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.