Another US$350 million has been returned to victims of the Bernie Madoff fraud, pushing the total to almost US$6 billion, reports the U.S. Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC), the U.S. industry’s contingency fund.
The liquidation of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC has now resulted in a total of nearly US$6 billion being paid back to former Madoff clients who suffered losses in the fraud. The latest pro rata distribution of approximately US$351.6 million means that 1,129 accounts will be fully satisfied out of the 2,190 accounts with 2,518 claims allowed by the firm’s trustee, Irving Picard. And, all claims of less than US$925,000 are fully satisfied, it notes.
“Funds from the US$325 million settlement with JPMorgan Chase, and other smaller settlements and recoveries by trustee Picard and his team through the end of March 2014, enabled this additional distribution,” says Stephen Harbeck, president of the SIPC.
The SIPC bears the costs of administration in these recovery efforts, including accounting and legal fees; which means that all of the recovered funds are returned to customers.
“We are pleased at the results as we continue to work with the trustee towards our shared goal of fully satisfying as many [Madoff] allowed claims as possible in an expeditious manner,” Harbeck says. “As remaining legal disputes continue to be resolved, we look forward to sharing news of additional distributions to Madoff customers.”
The total of nearly US$6 billion includes approximately US$812.2 million in committed advances by SIPC to satisfy Madoff customers.