NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2009
Madoff Sons May Pay for His Sins
CBS News Exclusive: Trustee Seeking Millions from Madoff Sons and Brother on Behalf of Jailed Swindler's Victims
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Play CBS Video Video Madoff's Sons in Jeopardy The court-appointed trustee overseeing the Madoff case is ready to up the ante on behalf of victims. As Armen Keteyian reports, Madoff's two sons may be forced to pay for their father's sins.
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Mark Madoff would only say "no comment" before scrambling away from CBS News cameras. (CBS)
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Photo Essay Madoff's Beach House Take a tour of Bernie Madoff's Montauk beach house
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Photo Essay Madoff Apartment Seized Ruth Madoff left the building before U.S. marshals arrived
Trustee Irving Picard is poised to file civil complaints against Madoff's two sons Mark and Andrew - who ran their father's trading division - and Peter Madoff, Bernie's brother and company's chief compliance officer, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.
Video: Tour Inside Madoff's Montauk Home
One source says Picard will seek in excess of $50 million - including at least $30 million in loans to the sons. He is not accusing them of wrongdoing; instead his goal is to recapture money diverted from Bernie Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.
"He's trying to get money back for the benefit of creditors from people who weren't entitled to receive it," said bankruptcy attorney John Kinzey.
Other sources say Picard intends to force the Madoffs to reveal all their assets - everything from bank accounts to fancy homes, including one on Nantucket Island bought by Mark Madoff and his wife for six and a half million dollars in cash. It was bought with money directly transferred, CBS News has been told, in June of 2008 from the bank account of Bernie Madoff Investment Securities.
Photos: A Closer Look Inside Madoff's Montauk Home
We wanted to ask Mark Madoff about the potential civil lawsuit.
We caught up with him and his wife on the streets of New York where his wife took exception to our question.
Mark Madoff would only say "no comment" before scrambling away.
In a statement, a lawyer for the brothers said they had no knowledge of the fraud, are the ones who turned their father in, and continue to cooperate fully with authorities.
Still, it may not prevent Picard from going after every asset Bernie Madoff gave to any member of his family.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Add a Comment See all 40 Comments
- Hunt these financiers down and mete out the justice and punishment that they have earned!
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- EXECUTION FOR MASSIVELY-SWINDLING FINANCIERS WHO CAUSE FINANCIAL DESTRUCTION TO THEIR VICTIMS
Legislation is desparately needed to punish such perpetrators of financial/economic destruction, as well as to send the correct message that hopefully will prevent the same or similar in the future! - Reply to this comment
- Does US Gov. have enough power to punish Maddof?
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- Oy Vey!
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- illuminated1. I would appreciate if you would not use such foul language and please remember: Jesus is King and one day you too will have to answer to him.
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- Babooph has it right!
"When I get old can I steal a wad,divert it to my famiy & then do my last couple years in the big house?"
As it stands, the way the justice system has acted, there is nothing to discourage anybody else from trying this again!
"Hmmm; I can choose to live like my schmuck friends in Queens who have working-man trade jobs and are stuck to living in small schmaltzy two-story walk ups; or commit fraud for years and live like a king, only to retire to a medium security facility..."
Maybe not everyone will make the choice he did, but many now seeing the consequences will!
These "Master of the Universe" guys are driven by ego; to show their friends back in Queens, or wherever, that they are big men. To discourage others, they have to put Madoff to work doing community service of picking up garbage (with an occasional photo-op for the press...); if he refuses to cooperate, you can then have a justification of legal precedent to put him in solitary; no books, no visitors, no TV/radio, no outdoors time.
Other ego-centric candidates seeing him humiliated in such a way will be further discouraged from doing so. It won't discourage everyone (e.g., some nutjobs will remain nutjobs), but it will serve to discourage more. - Reply to this comment
- Both sons knew what the father was doing and did nothing to stop it. Both should not benefit from the father's misdeeds. At the very least, they should be made to pay back whatever amounts they benefited from.
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- Lets take this one step further. Everyone Maddof ever paid a salary to were paid with ill gotten gains so.........how about clawing back all the workers salaries while we're at it. They were over paid anyway since the were pushing pencils to a fictious scheme. It only stands to reason since any innocent investor who was lucky enough to have gotten out before the musice stopped whole is subject to the claw back.
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- Madoff Sons May Pay for His Sins.
Duh!!!!!!
Madoff Sons became rich from His Sins.
Only the Rich have the Chutzpah to believe they deserve to be able to keep stolen wealth. - Reply to this comment
- "They ran their fathers trading division"?? were they ever curious that there were never any trades ?
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- EVERYBODY associated with this "company", should have ALL of their assets confiscated, including their homes.
And if they aren't sent to jail, then they should be thrown penniless into the street. - Reply to this comment
- by hamiltoningrate September 2, 2009 1:45 AM EDT
I do not believe in blaming, or over punishment, esp. when no one died. Can't we all move on ?
Someone comes into your home takes your car, tv, the information to your bank accounts and wipes you out. Are you going to just MOVE ON and let them keep everything they took from you and not say a word? Not bloody likely!! - Reply to this comment
- This money was gained illegally, it should all be confiscated from anyone who was part of it's collection regardless of who they are or what they knew.
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- bonjour
oui...la fete est finie le moment de vérité...quand il faut il faut,
il faut payer messieurs "maddof" au revoir - Reply to this comment
- Of course all money funneled from the corrupt ponzi scheme should be seized, regardless of who it was given to.
Madoff's spawn may have to work for a living now. The horror! - Reply to this comment
- I do not believe in blaming, or over punishment, esp. when no one died. Can't we all move on ?
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- Ill gotten gains should be returned plain and simple.
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- Next up...the wife. She shouldn't get to keep her ill-goten gains either. I agree with those who say that does not matter whether she or the sons knew that the money was obtained by fradulent means...it wasn't theirs in the first place so it is not theirs to keep.
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- They can get a "liar for hire" to insist they should only profit from the crime.
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- When I get old can I steal a wad,divert it to my famiy & then do my last couple years in the big house?
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