Picard Says Victim Payments Arriving Soon

By Robert Davis
Dec 23 2010

Madoff trustee Irving Picard announced this morning that some of the US claims against the Madoff estate would be paid out soon.

While the payments will not be in time for Christmas, the money will be a welcome relief for many who were victims of the Madoff scam. The total that resides within the Madoff estate coffers at this time is $10 billion, which is just about half of the total that Bernie Madoff managed to steal before being caught and sent to prison for 150 years.

Picard announced that all claims would be paid in the order in which they were received. The judge in the case ordered that all claims against the estate had to be filed by November 30^th. There are thousands who have filed claims and the verification process is still running at this time.

However, Picard told reporters today that those claims that have been verified as of today would be eligible for the payments which are likely to start after the first of the year.

Many of the claims filed against the estate are from charities around the US. Madoff admitted during his sentencing hearing that he had been very successful in manipulating charity groups into investing in his scam. He believed that several billion dollars had been stolen from the different charities.

Picard also said today that he is continuing his search for further lawsuits in the case. Currently there is $10 billion outstanding from the scam.