Autopsy: Madoff Buddy Died of Natural Causes

Trustee has recovered $1.4 billion in clawbacks, with more to come

(NEWSER) - The government fund that insures brokerage firms has so far paid 1,368 victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme $534 million in reparations—more than it has paid out in all its previous liquidations combined, in its almost 40 years in existence. And it ain’t over, Madoff trustee Irving Picard tells the Boston Globe . He’s identified $4.43 billion in legitimate claims so far, and has thousands more to go. More»

Will be harder for bilked investors to recoup losses

(AP) - The death of Jeffry Picower, accused of profiting more than $7 billion from the investment schemes of longtime pal Bernard Madoff, will make it more difficult for suing investors to recoup their money, attorneys said late yesterday. Palm Beach police are investigating the death, after Picower's wife discovered the 67-year-old's body at the bottom of the pool at their $33 million oceanside mansion. Picower's doctor said he was suffering from heart disease and Parkinson's. More»

Jeffry Picower faced Ponzi scheme lawsuit

(NEWSER) - Philanthropist Jeffry Picower, who allegedly reaped billions of dollars from longtime friend Bernard Madoff's Ponzi schemes, was found dead today at the bottom of his Florida swimming pool. Efforts to revive him failed, and his death was ruled a drowning, police said. Picower, 67, wife Barbara, and their foundation were among the defendants in a lawsuit brought by the trustee liquidating Madoff's assets, the Palm Beach Post reports. More»

Picower made $7.2B, lands on Forbes list

(NEWSER) - Jeffry Picower is a secretive guy, which must have made his turn in the spotlight this week all the more uncomfortable. The former lawyer, who was already being sued for $5.1 billion in alleged profits from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, cracked Forbes’ list of the 400 wealthiest Americans on the same day a federal investigator sued him for another $2.1 billion, ProPublica reports. More»

(NEWSER) - At least one person looks to have benefited more from Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madoff, ProPublica reports. Jeffry Picower, a secretive philanthropist and investor in medical technologies, is on the books as having withdrawn some $5.1 billion in returns from 1995 to 2008, well beyond his original investment. Records show some fishy numbers in Picower’s accounts, and the Madoff trustee has filed a lawsuit against him. More»