Madoff Trustee Files Five More Clawback Lawsuits Against Feeder Fund Investors Seeking Nearly $100 Million
The court-appointed trustee of Bernard Madoff's gigantic Ponzi scheme continued his quest to recover funds from investors in Madoff's largest feeder fund, filing five more lawsuits seeking over $95 million for defrauded investors. Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee, filed the suits in the wake of a settlement with Fairfield Sentry, Madoff's largest 'feeder fund,' that allows him to "claw back" profits from investors who placed funds with Madoff through Fairfield. The latest lawsuits come on the heels of seven lawsuits filed last week seeking the return of at least $173 million. Picard has now filed suits seeking nearly $470 million from Fairfield customers.
According to the complaints, a total of $3 billion was transferred from Madoff to Fairfield during the six-year period preceding BLMIS' bankruptcy filing. Picard seeks to avoid the transfers - known as subsequent transfers - to each defendant from Fairfield Sentry under the powers granted under Sections 550 and 551 of the Bankruptcy Code. The latest wave of lawsuits include the following defendants and amount sought:
- National Bank of Kuwait - $18,724,399
- DEZ Financial Management Ltd. - $14,776,114
- Maple Key Market Neutral Cayman Islands LP - $14,509,369
- Unifortune Asset Management Sgr Spa and Unifortune Conservative Fund - $26,772,978
- Delta National Bank and Trust Company - $20,634,958
Filing the lawsuits on behalf of Picard are Baker & Hostetler attorneys David J. Sheehan, Mark A. Kornfeld, Deborah A. Kaplan, Michelle R. Kaplan and Torello H. Calvani.
Each of the complaints may be found here.