Victims of Bernard Madoff’s massive fraud are about to get the first government payouts since the con man died behind bars five months ago, with a fund set up years ago preparing to send out $568 million in reimbursement checks.
About 31,000 investors worldwide will soon get payments derived from government settlements with some of Madoff’s oldest customers and his bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co., the U.S. Justice Department said Thursday in a statement. The DOJ, which set up the fund, said the disbursements will boost its total payouts to more than $3.7 billion.
“This office continues to seek justice for victims of history’s largest Ponzi scheme,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in the statement.
The U.S. fund is separate from the repayment process being overseen by a trustee, Irving Picard, in federal bankruptcy court in Manhattan. His litigation against customers who profited from the scam has so far recovered more than $14.5 billion, most of which as already been returned to victims.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.