Top SEC lawyer named in Madoff suit
NEW YORK (AP) — The top lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission has been named as a defendant in a lawsuit by the trustee who’s trying to recover money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
The lawsuit was filed by Irving Picard against David Becker, and claims Becker’s family earned more than $1.5 million in phony profits from Madoff’s investments.
Becker and his brothers were named executors of their mother’s estate, which included a Madoff account. It says they liquidated the account in 2005, withdrawing $2 million.
Becker tells the New York Post he had “absolutely” no idea Madoff was running a fraud. He says the suit is about his parents’ investments, which he had nothing to do with.
Becker is the SEC’s general counsel, but returns to the private sector next week.