After years of bickering, a federal appeals court has ruled that victims of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme are only entitled to recover the money they actually put into the fake investment fund—not the imagined profits. As Bloomberg News reports, "The federal appeals court in New York said today that trustee Irving Picard can calculate losses by subtracting the amount withdrawn from an investor’s account from the total placed with Madoff, the so-called net investment method." more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of returning the money lost to Bernie Madoff's ponzi scheme, is getting ready to write a whole lotta checks. A judge has given his approval for Picard's request to make his first payments to Madoff customers with approved claims. He'll be cutting 1,224 checks this quarter, worth an average of $222,551, from a fund of $2.6 billion dollars. The news comes two-and-a-half years after Madoff's monumental scheme was revealed. more ›

Iriving Picard, the trustee in charge of finding and returning as much of the $17.3 billion in principal lost in Bernie Madoff's infamous Ponzi scheme, is ready to give some money back. Specifically, Picard is seeking permission to distribute $272 million of the roughly $10 billion he has recouped to 1,224 of Madoff's account holders (so about $222,000 per account). more ›

How much trouble are the Wilpons in? The Mets owners, who were investors in Bernard Madoff's huge multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme and are being targeted by the trustee trying to recover money for Madoff victims, are trying to sell part of the team to raise some money and now the Post reports that JPMorgan Chase "is trying to recruit other institutions to join a syndicate to put together a new loan that would tide the Mets over until they sell a minority stake in the ballclub." more ›

Yesterday morning, the body of Mark Madoff was found hanging from a dog leash in his Soho apartment, while his two-year-old son was sleeping in another room. While no note was found, it's believed the 46-year-old son of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff committed suicide, based on desperate e-mails he sent to his lawyer and wife at 4 a.m. A Daily News source said of a message to his wife, "It basically sounded like he couldn't take it anymore. At one point he said something like, 'You'll have a better life if I'm not around ...I love you,'" and suggested she and their kids "would be better off without 'this' hanging over them all, forever. He all but said he was going to kill himself." more ›

Looks like Iriving Picard, the trustee in charge of finding Bernie Madoff's missing money, saved the best for last. Picard has until tomorrow, the second anniversary of Madoff's arrest, to file claims in the case and today he dropped a doozy: he is seeking $16.9 billion from an Austrian banker named Sonja Kohn. According to the suit “in Sonja Kohn, Madoff found a criminal soul mate, whose greed and dishonest inventiveness equaled his own.” Dealbook explains that this suit is the first to make a racketeering charge, under the RICO act which "allows for the recovery of triple damages." But she looks like such a nice lady! more ›

With hours to go until his Saturday filing deadline, Irving Picard's suing spree has not let down. After hitting up the big banks (and the Mets owner) the trustee in charge of getting back Bernie Madoff's ill-gotten gains is now going after the Madoff family. Having already sued Madoff's brother and sons, Picard is now climbing down the family tree and taking aim at Madoff's son's wives and ex-wives as well as his grandchildren. He's looking to get roughly a half-million bucks out of them. more ›

We told you there would be more Madoff money madness this week. And look, not only is original Madoff investor Carl Shapiro giving up $550 million to the government but Iriving Picard, the trustee in charge of finding the disgraced moneyman's cash, has gone and filed another lawsuit. And this time he's after the Mets. Or, rather, Mets principal owner Fred Wilpon and his real-estate investment firm, Sterling Equities. According to Picard, Sterling took out more money from Madoff's coffers than they put it, specifically they deposited about $523 million and took out $571 million. And, while the firm and the lawyer are currently in "good faith negotiations" on the matter, Sterling wants “to emphasize that the New York Mets will have all the necessary financial and operational resources to fully compete and win.” Feel better Mets fans? more ›

Expect to hear a bit more about Bernie Madoff this week. Under federal bankruptcy law Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of tracking down Madoff's many missing assets, has two years from the initial bankruptcy filing to file claims for recovery. Since Madoff's filing date is considered December 11, 2008, that means we should have a busy few days ahead of us. In the past week Picard has already sued JPMorgan for $6.4 billion, UBS for $2 billion and, yesterday, HSBC for another $9 billion bringing the total he is claiming on behalf of victims to more than $32 billion (including the 19 suits he's already filed). more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee who is overseeing the bankruptcy of Bernard Madoff's estate, has good news and bad news. According to a report he filed, he's found $849,000 for victims of the massive Ponzi scam, which is good...but during the same six-month period, he spent over $26 million, mostly on legal fees to Picard's firm. Bloomberg News reports, "Picard has recovered a total of about $1.5 billion for creditors of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC..." He also says he's "evaluated 14,030 investor claims as of Oct. 22 and approved 2,280" and "has committed to paying $738 million on behalf of the [SIPC]." Something else that is keeping Picard busy: Getting ready for those clawback lawsuits. more ›

This December, it will be the two-year-anniversary of the Bernard Madoff ponzi scheme revelations—which means that the trustee who is trying to recover assets for victims must file lawsuits against the Madoff investors took out more than they invested. Irving Picard, who has dubbed these "lucky" men and women the "net winners," told the Wall Street Journal, "The people who made money, who got more, have made money at the expense of the people who didn't." more ›

After much debate, a bankruptcy court judge has decided that victims of Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme are not entitled to fake profits that Madoff made up. Instead, their losses will be calculated with the formula of "money invested minus money withdrawn." The decision supports trustee Irving Picard's argument and will likely be appealed by the many victims. more ›

Three months after being sued for using Bernard L. Madoff Securities Investments like a "family piggy bank," the sons, brother, and niece of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff have agreed to having their assets frozen—plus they agreed to disclose their finances within 30 days. more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff's assets, now says many other people—not just Madoff's CFO Frank DiPascali—were involved with perpetrating the scheme. The NY Times reports, "According to a court document filed late on Friday, other longtime Madoff employees were in charge of managing 245 accounts for Madoff friends and family, and for them at least a few of the reported trades actually occurred." more ›

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's assets, has asked a judge to define what constitutes investors' losses. Naturally, some investors believe they are owed the inflated (hello, 46%, 950% returns), very fake and non-existent amounts that Madoff listed on their last balances—while Picard thinks they are owed simply what they invested minus withdrawals. The Post reports, "A decision could prove crucial in how Madoff's assets are divided among his victims, because some investors -- whom Picard calls 'net winners' -- might be denied a share if their withdrawals exceeded their investments." The Manhattan Bankruptcy Court will have a hearing about the matter in...February. And we must bring up this December 2008 quote from one burned (Berned) investor: "The point with [Madoff] was that I always got every document. If you get all the documents, you are not suspicious." more ›

The trustee overseeing bankruptcy proceedings for disgraced financier Bernard Madoff has sued one Madoff client for $6.7 billion. Why? Because Jeffrey Picower, his wife, Barbara, and the Picower Foundation "knew or should have known they were benefiting from fraudulent activity or, at a minimum, failed to exercise reasonable due diligence"—they received 950% in returns one year and for a few years, returns ranged from 120% to 550%. more ›

The trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernard Madoff's estate filed a motion to sell the Ponzi schemer's Mets tickets on eBay. The filing states, "Because the New York Mets’ season has already started, the trustee must sell the tickets as quickly as possible to maximize the possible recovery." According to Bloomberg News, "The Madoff firm had two Delta Club Platinum season tickets for the Mets, for seats directly behind home plate" with a "face value was $80,190 for the season." But since the right to purchase playoff seats and tickets don't transfer if those seats' tickets are sold, "Picard reached an agreement with the Mets to swap them for Delta Club Gold tickets valued at $60,750" and the Mets refunded the difference. The filing thinks the Gold seats, which are behind the Platinum ones, are "more marketable, especially given the current economic environment." More details here. Also: Mets owner Fred Wilpon's firm had invested heavily with Madoff. more ›