$464M more paid out to victims of Madoff scheme

JTA – Another $464 million has been paid out to victims of Bernie Madoff’s $19 billion Ponzi scheme, bringing the total distributions in the case to more than $12 billion.

The new payout to 880 former Madoff clients began Feb. 22 with checks ranging from $429 to $66 million, Bloomberg reported, citing the office of trustee Irving Picard.

The total distributions equal about two-thirds of each allowed claim, Picard said. Clients who suffered certified losses of as much as $1.49 million will have been paid in full after this 10th distribution.

Picard has been working to claw back the fake profits earned by Madoff investors.

The uncovering of the Madoff Ponzi scheme revealed the tens of billions of dollars in fake profit that victims believed they had earned through Madoff. Many prominent Jewish nonprofits also suffered big losses, with Yeshiva University taking a $140 million hit, Hadassah $90 million and Elie Wiesel’s foundation losing $15 million.

In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies and is serving a 150-year sentence in a federal prison. He also was ordered to forfeit nearly $171 billion.