Irving Picard is out for blood … or at least a giant chunk of cash. The trustee for Bernard Madoff’s former clients is asking a bankruptcy court to release $1.49 billion to $2.43 billion to compensate victims—small potatoes compared to what Madoff stole from them.
In December 2008, Madoff was arrested for securities fraud, or more bluntly, masterminding one of the largest and longest running Ponzi schemes in U.S. history. In the end, Madoff cheated his clients out of about $18 billion, according to David Sheehan, chief counsel to Picard.
Picard said yesterday that the payout he requests would compensate more than 1,220 of Madoff’s victims, as well as bring total payments to date to nearly 50 percent of the claims the court will currently allow.
So far, Irving has recovered $9.14 billion, but only $336 million of that has been distributed to Madoff’s victims. Much is being held for litigation purposes.
The latest payout is awaiting approval by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland in Manhattan.
Read more about this story on Thomson Reuters.
Read more of InsideCounsel’s coverage of the Bernie Madoff scandal and related stories:
New York Mets settle with Madoff victims for $162 million
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“Mini-Madoff” sentenced to 25 years for $400 million Ponzi scheme
Litigation: Madoff and the SEC—A loss for private litigants, with a twist
