New York – Struggling victims of Ponzi swindler Bernie Madoff could be eligible for a quick $500,000 payout if they can prove they’re unable to pay their bills.
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U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee Irving Picard Friday set up a hardship program for senior citizens and others who lost their life savings to Madoff’s $65 billion scam.
Victims who can show they’re having trouble paying for food, housing, medical care or other necessities will be pushed to the head of the line so they can immediately receive a payout from a federally backed fund for swindled investors.
To qualify, victims will first have to show they lost money to Madoff. Then they’ll have to show hardships like being forced to return to the workforce following retirement.
Picard will also consider those who can’t care for dependents or have declared personal bankruptcy. The payouts from the Securities Investor Protection Corp. could go out as quickly as 20 days after the claim has been received.
Picard has already tracked down $1 billion in Madoff assets in far-flung locations from Gibraltar to the British Virgin Isles. And he’s paid out claims to 51 victims for a total of $25 million. There are expected to be 8,500 victims making claims.
Madoff is slated to be sentenced in June after pleading guilty to swindling investors through a Ponzi scheme that prosecutors say spanned two decades. He faces 150 years in prison.
Takes from the rich to give to the poor.
A real Baal Chessed!
Wait a minute, these payouts are coming from a federally backed fund? Not from Madoff’s assets? So we, the taxpayer, are handing out $500,000 to investors that lost money with Bernie. Something doesn’t smell right. I’m sorry these people lost their money; I wonder how they closed their eyes to reality when they got such wonderful returns on their investments and no one else did; I’m appalled that someone invests so much of their money that they don’t have any left over to feed themselves. Is there also a federally backed fund for seniors and others who have lost their savings in the market but didn’t invest with Madoff? Of course not. You take a chance when you invest, it’s a gamble. If you invest with a thief you try to get some of your money back from the thief that took your money but I don’t see why the tax payers have to pay you back.