Victims of Bernard Madoff’s massive Ponzi scheme will soon get another $372 million from a government entity that has paid out more than $4 billion in forfeited funds since the collapse of the fraudster’s funds in 2008.
The eighth payment so far from the U.S. Justice Department’s Madoff Victim Fund will go out to about 40,000 victims worldwide, bringing the total recovery from all sources of compensation to just over 88% of their losses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said Wednesday in a statement.
The money was raised through government settlements with Madoff’s bank, JPMorgan Chase, as well as some of his oldest customers, such as investor Jeffry Picower, who died in 2009, according to the statement. Madoff died last year in prison, where he was serving a 150-year prison term.
“This office continues its historic work seeking justice for the victims of Madoff’s heinous crimes,” U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Damian Williams said in the statement. “But our work is not fully complete, and this Office’s tireless commitment to compensating the victims who suffered as a result of Madoff’s crimes continues.”
The U.S. fund is separate from the repayment process being overseen by a trustee, Irving Picard, in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. His litigation against customers who profited from the scam has so far recovered more than $14.5 billion, most of which as already been returned to victims.
(c) 2022, Bloomberg · Erik Larson
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