Financial Times – The trustee charged with tracking down money for victims of Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn Ponzi scheme will target big investors – such as hedge funds – that pulled "substantial amounts" of "false profits" out of the broker’s operation.<\/p>\n
Under federal and New York law, investors who withdrew either principal or profits in the 90 days before Mr Madoff’s December 11 arrest are particularly vulnerable to so-called "clawbacks", but the trustee will be able to reach back up to six years in some cases.<\/p>\n
With billions in claims and only about $940m in recovered assets, Irving Picard, the trustee, must rely on money from investors who cashed out early as a source of restitution.<\/p>\n
He and David Sheehan, a lawyer working with him, told a creditor meeting last week that they intended to focus on large investors, particularly if they had suspicions about Mr Madoff’s operation.<\/p>\n
Mr Sheehan cited the example of "someone who may have been well informed and may have had red flags".<\/p>\n