Madoff trustee wants victims to get more money

Madoff trustee wants victims to get more money

NEW YORK (AP) — Victims of imprisoned Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme could be getting back more of their stolen money.

Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of liquidating Madoff’s assets, is asking a New York court for permission to distribute another $1.5 billion to $2.4 billion to investors who lost money in Madoff’s fraudulent investments.

Picard’s job is to recover as much money as possible for the victims, and the process has been arduous. Ever since Madoff’s firm collapsed, more than three and a half years ago, the victims who are trying to get their money back have filed lawsuits and made other complaints over how Picard has chosen to distribute the money.

Picard estimates he has recovered $9.1 billion, but has been able to distribute only $1.1 billion.

He called his request to distribute more money, filed with bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York, “another major milestone in the worldwide Madoff recovery effort.”