Doubt Cast on $50B Figure in Madoff Case

Fraudster will wait in jail until June sentencing

(NEWSER) - A federal appeals court today denied Bernard Madoff’s request to be released on bail until his June sentencing date, the New York Daily News reports. “The defendant’s age and exposure to imprisonment are undisputed, and the court did not err in inferring an incentive to flee from these facts,” the three-judge panel said in confirming that the 70-year-old Madoff, facing a 150-year sentence, was a flight risk. More»

(NEWSER) - If past fraud cases are a guide, investors rooked by Bernard Madoff will have to wait quite a while to see even a fraction of their initial investments returned, Reuters reports. Court action is notoriously slow, but that’s only half the problem: Recovering money is possible only if it’s there to find. “I think we are talking less than half,” one lawyer said of the anticipated payout. More»

They're offering cash upfront, for reduced amounts, to take over claims

(NEWSER) - Bernie Madoff made a fortune off his victims, and now speculators in the field known as distressed securities hope to do the same. As the New York Times explains: These speculators are contacting those who lost money and offering a deal: We'll give you cash immediately and take over your claim as it winds through bankruptcy court. The Madoff victims would get only 30 cents on the dollar at most, but they wouldn't have to wait years for the cases to be settled, possibly at a reduced amount anyway. More»

Justice Department brags about wave of arrests

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities have charged more than 500 people with various forms of fraud during a 3.5-month probe, in what Eric Holder today termed the largest crackdown on scam artists in US history. Of those, 343 were criminally charged, with the defendants accused of everything from running Ponzi schemes to pump-and-dump scams to foreign-exchange frauds. Another 189 have been civilly charged, according to the Wall Street Journal . More»

Irving Picard sues, again, for money

(NEWSER) - The court-appointed trustee seeking to recover billions of dollars lost by Bernie Madoff is suing for $30 million that he says the Madoff family invested in oil, gas, and tech, reports the AP . The suit filed by trustee Irving Picard says the investments were used as vehicles to funnel money out of Madoff's business, and comes as a follow-up to the lawsuit he filed in November seeking nearly $200 million from Madoff family members who he said lived lavishly while using the family business like a "piggy bank." More»