The media attention surrounding Bernie Madoff is finally winding down. Although some of his former employees remain on trial, the public has largely relegated Madoff to the history books. As he serves his life sentence in a federal prison cell, thousands of investors will never forget the harm and evil Madoff caused.
The two receivers charged with collecting billions of dollars of lost investments have made respectable progress but their efforts will still fall far short. Investors who unknowingly invested in Madoff securities through feeder funds will receive even less. There is hope, however.
We represent many investors who made their investments through Nikolai Battoo and his PIWM funds. There are many other feeder funds, however. This post addresses the Rye Select Broad Market Fund, Rye Select Broad Market Prime Fund, Rye Select Broad Market XL Fund, Tremont Market Neutral Fund II and Tremont Opportunity Fund. All of these funds are affiliated with Tremont Partners and all invested in Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities.
Several investors have filed lawsuits against Tremont. Those cases are still pending but haven’t done well to date. Even if they ultimately pay some money, not everyone will share and investors are unlikely to be made whole.
So what can investors do? If they purchased these funds through a stockbroker or other financial professional, plenty. Brokers have an obligation to perform due diligence on the funds and investments they recommend to clients.
We believe that little if any due diligence was performed by Tremont or the funds. The brokers selling these funds knew or should have known that no due diligence was being performed. Like Tremont, they also had a duty of due diligence and turned a blind eye.
Claims against stockbrokers are generally arbitrated before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Most cases take 14 months or less from start to award. Unfortunately, the time to file claims is running out and may have already run out for some folks. Whether or not you receive 10 cents or 50 cents on the dollar from other sources, you should bring any claims against brokers or others selling these investments immediately.
We have teamed up with Chapman Law to pursue these claims against those selling investments in Rye Select, Tremont, PIWM, Maven, Anchor Hedge Fund, First Fidelity, BC Capital and others who may be associated with Bernard Madoff or invested with him. We have successfully brought claims against insurance agents too.
If you wish to discuss fraud losses in general, contact the author at or by telephone at (direct). Have a claim involving Rye Select Broad Market Fund, Rye Select Broad market Prime Fund, Rye Select Broad Market XL Fund, Tremont Market Neutral Fund II,Tremont Opportunity Fund or any other Madoff feeder fund? Contact us as well!
Post by Brian Mahany, Esq.