Lawyer sues ex for $2.7M; Madoff account empty

A prominent Manhattan real estate lawyer is suing his ex-wife to recoup about $2.7 million he gave her from their joint account managed by Bernard Madoff, who's accused of running a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.

In papers filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Steven Simkin claims he had paid Laura Blank a sum equal to half of the $5.4 million they thought they had in a Madoff account, and it should be returned to him. Simkin is seeking a modification of their 2006 divorce because he learned after Madoff's arrest in December that the account was empty.

"He may have a case," said renowned divorce attorney Raoul Felder, who isn't handling the matter.

Felder said Simkin appears to be saying the financial settlement in the divorce involved a "mutual mistake of fact," that the Madoff account contained the money it was supposed to have, when in fact it didn't.

Simkin, 61, is a partner at the firm of Paul Weiss Rivkin Wharton and Garrison. His biography and news accounts state that he specializes in big real estate deals.

Court records indicate that Simkin and Blank, 59, were granted an uncontested divorce in July 2006 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. Neither Simkin nor Blank returned telephone calls for comment.

Felder, who has handled many high-profile divorce cases, said the Madoff debacle is going to reverberate in some marriages, particularly as more scams unfold. He said some suspected scammers will try to hide money in the accounts of spouses to shield them from investigators.

This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.