The trustee working to recover money for victims fleeced by Bernard Madoff says he has filed 40 lawsuits in Manhattan federal court against former employees of the disgraced fancier’s company and his relatives.
Trustee Irving H. Picard says 22 lawsuits were filed against Madoff’s relatives. Madoff’s wife Ruth was among those named.
Her attorney didn’t immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment Friday night.
Eighteen lawsuits were filed against former employees of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.
Picard says his firm is seeking about $69 million in funds deposited by the company’s customers and stolen in the 72-year-old’s vast Ponzi scheme.
Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence after confessing to the decades-long scheme.
An estimated $20 billion was lost, making it the biggest investment fraud in U.S. history.