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$231 Million Approved for Payments to Madoff Victims
New York Law Journal
July 06, 2009
The court-appointed trustee charged with liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities announced Wednesday that $231 million in Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC) funds had been set aside to satisfy 543 claims totalling over $2.97 billion by victims of Bernard L. Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
The figure, which exceeds the total amount paid in the last 11 largest liquidations under the Securities Investor Protection Act, reflects "major progress" since May 14, when $61.4 million in SIPC funds had been committed to 125 Madoff claimants, SIPC said in a statement.
The announcement by trustee Irving H. Picard and SIPC, which maintains a reserve fund to help investors at failed brokerage firms, comes two days after Southern District of New York Judge Denny Chin imposed a 150-year sentence on Madoff, 71, for his "extraordinarily evil" crimes.
Last month, Picard came under fire by investors who claimed his refusal to rely on their most recent account statements to calculate "net equity" violated SIPC requirements.
On Wednesday, SIPC President Stephen Harbeck took pains to stress that contrary to suggestions by "ill-informed parties," customer funds are never used to pay Picard's expenses.
Since May, Picard has filed several suits aimed at recovering billions from investors.
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