Ignored Lawsuit
Another feeder fund, Vizcaya Partners, could have filed a claim for $147 million but didn’t, court records show. The British Virgin Islands-based fund also ignored a lawsuit by Picard that sought $180 million withdrawn from Madoff’s firm in the months before it collapsed. They later reached a settlement, with Vizcaya paying $25 million.
Anthony Paccione of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in New York, who represented Vizcaya in its dealings with Picard, declined to comment on why the fund didn’t file a claim.
Not filing a claim isn’t automatically a sign of wrongdoing. Some folks may have just missed the deadline or could afford to put the mess behind them and move on.
One thing is certain: the missing claims mean there will be a lot more money to go around for Madoff’s other victims. Picard has said he’d like to pay back 100 cents on the dollar, and now he can get there faster.