The US government’s fund for compensating Bernie Madoff’s former customers is closing its doors. The Madoff Victim Fund has distributed over $131 million in its final round of payments, bringing the total amount of compensation to $4.3 billion shared by nearly 41,000 people across 127 countries.
Each person receiving compensation will recover almost 94% of their proven losses. The fund began distributing payments in 2017 and was largely funded by assets recovered from the estate of late investor Jeffry Picower. Court-appointed trustee Irving Picard has also distributed over $14 billion to former Madoff customers.
Madoff, a Wall Street financier, was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 after pleading guilty to multiple counts of fraud. He died in 2021 at the age of 82. The majority of victims were small-level investors who lost around $250,000 each.
Source: https://www.salon.com/2024/12/31/bernie-madoff-victims-receiving-final-payout-will-recover-94-of-their-losses