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Saturday, November 21, 
1:49 am

SIPC secures funds for Madoff victims

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madoff-bernard125x100.jpgSome of Bernie Madoff's investors are getting an idea of where they stand in recouping their losses two days after the self-confessed swindler was sentenced to 150 years in prison, while some should be wondering if a subpoena is in their future.

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. announced that $231 million has been committed from its reserves to pay 543 claims by the con man's victims with another $2.74 billion authorized for potential recoveries in the future.

The $231 million will settle 543 claims submitted by Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC investors, according to court-appointed trustee Irving H. Picard and SIPC President Stephen Harbeck.

The agency also said the same claimants were approved to receive as much as $2.74 billion in future payments, depending on how much money is ultimately recovered. The 543 are the first of 8,800 claims to be evaluated. The deadline for filing a claim is midnight July 2.

The actions announced Wednesday represent "major progress" in the effort to pay victims for their losses, Harbeck said in a statement. The victims can get as much as $500,000 each from SIPC and more if the trustee, Picard, recovers enough assets.

Meanwhile Picard has been working to recover billions in funds that have already been withdrawn. So far the trustee has $1.23 billion in hand, but he has filed lawsuits seeking more than $10.1 billion. Picard is suing Madoff investors including financier Ezra Merkin and philanthropists Stanley Chais and Jeffry Picower. He claims the men knew or should have known of the fraud and that they benefited from years' worth of fake profits.

CBS News is reporting that federal prosecutors have sent out more than 100 subpoenas related to the Madoff case, and criminal investigators are focusing on at least 10 others who are likely involved.

Citing a person familiar with the investigation, CBS also learned that in addition to the subpoenas "federal investigators have conducted more than a hundred interviews here and overseas, and reviewed volumes of computer files and microfilm records." - Donna Block

See statement from SIPC
See story from CBS News
See scandal Dealwatch

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