Madoff Liquidator Has $2.6 Billion, Enough To Pay Back "Legitimate Claims"

Bloomberg:

March 27 (Bloomberg) -- The agency liquidating Bernard Madoff's brokerage says the $2.6 billion it has on hand is enough to satisfy all legitimate claims by victims of the money manager's $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

The Securities Investor Protection Corp. is using a formula that investors may challenge in court. The agency has the money in an industry-financed fund and from recovered assets to reimburse Madoff's 5,000 customers to the maximum allowed by its charter, Stephen Harbeck, SIPC president, said in an interview.

Read the whole story: Bloomberg

Comments

[zukervati]

Googled an interesting article about this, not sure whether the dude is for real or not but seem to make some valid points:

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message689061/pg1

[Rosewren]

They haven't only loss their initial investment, they have paid taxes on false profits all these years as well. They may be able to file amended returns for the last 3 years but for someone invested for 20 years that may not mean as much. Just because some of these people were wealthy, it was wealth earned and a real shame it was a scam. Scary to think how many friendly, grandfatherly, next door neighbor might actually be a crook.

[partyofone]

Evidently the only people the government does not protect are honest hardworking taxpayers who don't don't gamble with their savings, who make their mortgage payments, and who are in the business of scamming investors..

[partyofone]

oops .... and "and who are NOT in the busines of scamming investors" *

[mjeffn]

or those who take their savings and invest in a small business that goes broke.

[syncxx]

Misleading headline that if true would have been picked up by the larger media, and this hasn't happened. Why? Because while there is money sufficient to pay out the SIPC claims, there is not enough money to pay back those who lost more than the SIPC $500,000. Thousands are still out millions. Not making a value judgement here, just stating the the story headline is misleading.

[kwright]

Will this be the get out of jail free card?

[Lavafalls]

Don't think so.

[outragedbystupidity]

sipc was created to reimburse investors for lost securities and cash (up to $100k) for a total of $500,000. i'm actually surprised that they may even get $500k. since madoff never invested any of the money, the investors never owned any securities so all they ever had was cash. the reason for covering "lost" securities is that, prior to computerization, stocks and bonds were usually physical pieces of paper. so a brokerage statement might say that you bought 100 shares of xyz even though it couldn't be physically located.

[partyofone]

the key here is up to the amount of their "claims" under the limits you note, not their losses. The Picower Foundation alone reportedly lost over $1 Billion and its maximum recovery would be $500,000?

[duxguts]

his whole episode will happen again if people like Madoff don't end up doing serious jail time. He will probably have a heart problem and get out. Ad what of the SEC? Shouldn't someone there hall on their sword?

[partyofone]

and what about his wife, brother, sons and neice and her husband? Why not other charges in this case? Do they keep all their ill-gotten milllions?

[Bettysdad]

I believe the word in Yiddish is "chutzpa."

These people aren't satisfied to get their money back?!?!

They want what the thought the phony accounts were worth?

[partyofone]

I don't understand you post. If they invested mega millions and get back %500,000, the maximum covered by SIPC, they should be happy?

[Bettysdad]

You're absolutely correct.

You don't understand the post, because you don't understand the article.

Go finish those ESL classes, and get your GED.

[i5kfun]

I wish I could say that the greed and arrogance of the people quoted in the bloomberg article shocked me, but the last 60 years have shown us their people are never satisfied and will pull out the victim card any chance they get.

[partyofone]

what?

[hortonhearsawho2]

How much to get legit ?

[TheBear]

How ironic is it that if you had put $500,000 with good old Bernie you will be made whole even though you got "scammed", but if you had put in $500,000 in the last several years in a "legitimate" DOW index fund you're down 40-50%?

We should all file a claim with the SIPC....haha

[Lefty08]

OMG., that is very true!

[zukervati]

Then again, who are the: perpetrators, claimants, fictitious foundation heads, arbitrators and overseers? I rest my case!

[JICC]

Was thinking about the same... a Nobel prize in economics going to Bernie?
Now, if the funds are after all not lost, what is he going to jail for, bad book keeping?

[Kolors]

Very true. But $500,000 is the maximum payout. Most of Bernie's victims invested far more than that, and they'll lose most of their investment.

[TheBear]

I bet there are going to be many situations where people are actually better off thatn they would have been had they invested in a legitimate brokerage account.

Imagine if you invested $500,000 in a DOW index fund in 2007, what do you think it would be worth right now? If you had lucked out and invested with Bernie you would be getting your $500,000 back.....talk about dumb luck.

[PS9]

Excellent observation.

[Weirdwriter]

I suspect there are many Madoff victims who would be happy to "only" get what they actually put in and lost.

And if those who complain about having had to pay taxes on those profits would be willing to give back all the things they bought with those profits in return for refunds based on the stuff's current market value, maybe we could finally see an end to this.

[crazylikeafox]

I read a while back that they will get it all back thanks to guess who? You, the American taxpayer.

Why, because they are covered and will be repaid because what Madoff did was fraud.

So get ready to pay billions more to the millionaires.

[PS9]

Untrue. The amount is capped at $500k.

[crazylikeafox]

Where are you getting the 500k cap?

[JoDeeVa]

Yeah, I'm going with.."greed begets greed!" They should take the "net equity" of their investment money$$ and the IRS deal for taxes paid on phony profits and run. If they received pay-outs that already equal (or exceed) their initial investment principal and they were anticipating more profits on that investment principal..too frak kin' bad!..they were non-existent profits of a fraudulent Ponzi shell game and guess what? GAME FRAK KIN' OVER!!

No one else is getting anywhere near as sweet-a-deal on legitimate investments/ profits that they got "AIGed, Goldman-Sacked and Wall Stricken" out of! Many can only dream of any kind of equitable recoup deal on payroll contributions to 401Ks. Hard earned wages, lost to the same kind of greedy manipulations of a few mega-rich @$$h**$, who have absolutely NO OPTIONS! I have little sympathy for those who want to be made MORE whole, resultant of phony investments/ profits. They are simply delusional and greedy. They are no better than Madoff..they would still be stealing other's $$, just as he did! Jeez, reality check, please!!

[PS9]

Do you lie awake at night looking for people to blame about every misfortune in you life.

How do you get out of bed in the morning.

Buck up.