Bernie Madoff trustee returns $355 million more to investors

NEW YORK (AP) — About $355 million distributed last week to investors cheated in Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme means over half of allowable claims have been paid in full, the trustee recovering money for investors announced today.

Trustee Irving Picard said everyone with an allowable claim of less than $976,000 has been fully paid as well.

The latest distribution from money generated through settlements with feeder funds was the fifth major payout since Picard was appointed to oversee the recovery of money after Madoff's December 2008 arrest. Madoff pleaded guilty to fraud several months later and was sentenced to 150 years in prison in North Carolina.

The money distributed Friday returned about 2.7 percent of the allowed claim in each individual account, the trustee said. The payouts ranged from $431 to $57.1 million, with the average being $330,000.

So far, Picard's office has recovered more than $10.5 billion, with more than $7.2 billion paid out.