By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. government fund to compensate people defrauded by Bernard Madoff announced its 10th and final distribution on Monday, saying it will have paid $4.3 billion to 40,930 of the late Ponzi schemer's victims.
Richard Breeden, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission who oversees the Madoff Victims Fund, said a final payment of $131.4 million will go to 23,408 plaintiffs and mark the distribution of all seized assets. available.
Victims, including 38,860 individuals, as well as schools, charities and pension plans, will have recovered an average of 93.71% of their proven losses when the fund created by the US Department of Justice closes in 2025.
Irving Picard, the trustee who liquidated that company after its bankruptcy in 2008, recovered an additional $14.72 billion for clients of the former Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
That brings the total payout to Madoff's victims to about $19 billion. Unlike Picard, Breeden also returned money to victims who lost money indirectly, such as through “feeder” funds. Payments went to claimants in 127 countries.
“Our goal was to find all the victims and find out what everyone lost, to use the assets we had in the most fair and equitable way,” Breeden said in an interview. “No one was left behind.”
Breeden also said it was important not to forget Madoff's “complete depravity,” even though it occurred many years ago, and that people “continue to be cautious and careful about how they invest their money and protect their savings.”
The fund was created primarily from agreements between the Justice Department and Madoff's former bank, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:), and between the liquidator of Madoff's former company and the estate of former Madoff investor Jeffry Picower.
It was originally worth $4.05 billion, but it grew because the Justice Department recovered additional assets.
Madoff's fraud was estimated at $64.8 billion.
He went undiscovered for many years until Madoff confessed it to his children in December 2008, one day after his company's Christmas party.
Madoff ultimately pleaded guilty to 11 criminal charges. He died at age 82 in April 2021 while serving a 150-year prison sentence.
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