For the victims of Wall Street swindler Bernie Madoff, payback time could finally be at hand.
Their trustee, Irving Picard, asked a bankruptcy judge Wednesday for permission to start repaying some of the money they lost in Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme.
“This initial distribution represents a significant milestone in the trustee’s recovery efforts,” a partner of Picard’s said in a statement. “We can now begin to return stolen funds to their rightful owners.”
Picard wants to distribute an initial $272 million to former customers. The average payment would be $222,551 on claims relating to 1,224 accounts.
A hearing is set for July 12, when a judge could approve the disbursement request.
Picard has filed more than 1,000 lawsuits in a bid to recover about $100 billion — he’s collected about $7 billion so far.
Among his targets are Madoff’s longtime bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and the owners of the New York Mets.
Madoff, 73, who was arrested in 2008 after his decades-long scheme collapsed, is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina prison.
(With Reuters)
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
'If you don't address demand, you don't address the problem' Police are only addressing the supply, but demand is what fuels the illicit sex trade, experts say. Newsday political reporter Bahar Ostadan has the story.
