New York – The trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Bernard Madoff’s investment firm sued the Austrian banker Sonja Kohn for $19.6 billion on Friday, accusing her of helping to prop up his decades-long Ponzi scheme.
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The amount of the lawsuit filed in federal court in New York by Irving Picard represents the entire amount of principal that he says investors lost in the fraud, even though he has sued many others to recover money for victims. Mr. Picard said in his lawsuit that Ms. Kohn, who headed Bank Medici in Austria, “masterminded a vast illegal scheme” that fed $9.1 billion of investors’ money to Mr. Madoff, starting when they met in New York in the mid-1980s.
Mr. Picard labeled her conspiracy “the Medici Enterprise.” His lawsuit names Ms. Kohn’s relatives and other entities related to her. Ms. Kohn didn’t immediately return a request for comment.
“No Ponzi scheme can survive without a constant influx of fresh capital, and the Illegal Scheme provided a flood of cash for Madoff,” the lawsuit said, adding that without Ms. Kohn’s alleged participation, “the Ponzi scheme could not have continued for as long as it did.”
Mr. Picard alleged 22 counts of civil racketeering, conspiracy, and fraud against Ms. Kohn and others. He said she fed billions to Mr. Madoff through so-called feeder funds including Primeo Fund, Thema International Herald Fund, Alpha Prime Fund, Senator Fund and Herald (Lux).
In exchange, the lawsuit alleges, Ms. Kohn set up an elaborate network of sham companies to receive “secret kickbacks” from Mr. Madoff that totaled at least $62 million.
Anti-Semite. Suing the Jew for everything, while at the same time suing other for part of the same funds he is suing it all to her.
word is she is “hiding” in EY. and last week the rabbi ans on molestation team from Flatbush fled there as well. and we “wonder” why the courts use Israel as a rwason not to allow frumme yidden out on bail in certain cases.
Reply to #6
Bernie the goniff’s chief administrative asst & personal sec is Italian; one of his main (indicted) accountants, the same. The sad point of the story is not that Bernie and Ruthala are Yidden, but they knowingly preyed on Yidden and important Jewish organizations… The other 2 sons and Ruthie need to be imprisoned ASAP.
I remember her family – daughter’s an unusually sweet, special person. She probably thought it was legitimate, came across years ago extremely professional, very responsible.
It’s nice to know there are some frum Yidden who have that kind of money.