So, did he punch his own ticket or have it punched for him Both scenarios are plausible. His life was likely about to be ruined, after all. But he might have been willing to name names to cut a deal for himself. Or maybe someone thought he might.
My aunt was acquainted (but not friends) with a guy who tried to run a little Ponzi scheme to get the cash to pay off gambling debts. Shortly after the people who had "invested" with him started threatening to go to authorities, he was found in his car with a shotgun wound to the chest. The gun was in his lap with the barrel resting on his stomach. He had one shoe off, presumably so he could operate the trigger with a toe. The cause of death was listed as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but lots of people weren't convinced.
Situations like this are often messy in more ways than one.