Good news for some Madoff investors
NEW YORK -- The trustee recovering money lost by investors with imprisoned financier Bernard Madoff has reported a new milestone, saying a new distribution will mean allowable claims of $1.1 million or less will have been fully reimbursed.
Trustee Irving Picard made the announcement Tuesday as he asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to approve a $1.18 billion distribution to investors.
In a release, the trustee said the distribution will increase the total amount already returned to investors to about $9.1 billion of $17.5 billion in allowable claims. The trustee has recovered or reached deals to recover about $10.9 billion since the fraud was revealed in December 2008 with Madoff's arrest.
The 77-year-old Madoff is serving a 150-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to fraud charges, admitting his Ponzi scheme lasted decades.