Madoff Victim Fund Trustee Richard Breeden (photo from Madoff Victim Fund)
There is hope for the thousands of investors who lost money through the so-called Madoff feeder funds. People who invested directly with Bernard Madoff Investment Securities were the only ones eligible to share in the $9.5 billion collected by trustee Irving Picard. Unfortunately, billions of dollars were funneled into Madoff’s empire through so-called feeder funds. Among those entities and people that were allegedly funneling money to Madoff were Tracy Sunderlage, Nikolai Battoo, PIWM, BC Capital, the Anchor Funds, Galaxy Fund, Phi R Squared funds, and FuturesOne Diversified. (There are many more.)
Earlier this week, the other Madoff trustee, Richard Breeden, emerged from the shadows. Appointed by Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, trustee Richard Breeden announced that the $2.35 billion he has collected will be distributed to all victims. That’s big news for those who were previously left out of any recovery.
To date, Irving Picard, the bankruptcy trustee has approved approximately 2,500 claims while rejecting 11,000 others. Most of those rejected were denied any recovery because they were not so-called direct investors. Thankfully, these folks can now make a claim through Breeden’s office.
The new fund is called the Madoff Victim’s Fund. Information can be found through the Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Distribution Program. There is both a website and help desk.
Unfortunately, the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) does not have nearly enough money to make victims whole. While everyone who qualifies will receive something, the fund is projected to pay nickels and dimes on the dollar.
Investors who gave their money to Tracy Sunderlage, Nikolai Battoo or who invested through insurance agents, investment advisers and stockbrokers still have a good chance to also get money from the people who sold these investments. While most of the feeder funds failed when Madoff’s empire collapsed, the people recommending these funds and their employers may still be on the hook. Investment professionals have an obligation to make suitable investment recommendations to their clients and perform proper due diligence. Clearly, they failed to do so.
In many cases, insurance agents were selling overpriced insurance policies which in turn invested in Madoff. Either way, those that sold the investments or reviewed them for a fee may share some responsibility.
Although the MVF will accept applications for reimbursement until February 28th, 2014, time is running out to seek compensation against those who sold these feeder fund investments. In some states, it may already be too late to file a claim. If that happens, the Madoff Victim Fund may be the only source of recovery.
If you have lost money to an investment scheme or fraud or a Ponzi scheme, file a claim with the MVF and give us a call. Don’t wait.
The investment fraud lawyers at Mahany & Ertl have helped many investors get back their hard earned money from around the nation and even beyond our borders. We understand and have successfully prosecuted Battoo fraud and Sunderlage fraud cases. For more information, contact attorney Brian Mahany at or by telephone at (direct).
Want more information? We have written several articles on Nikolai Battoo and Tracy Sunderlage. Our Due Diligence blog is text searchable. Just type in the words “Battoo” or “Sunderlage” and view all of our posts.
Post by attorney Brian Mahany