Federal prosecutors yesterday for the first time staked claim to tens of millions of dollars lent by swindler Bernard Madoff to his two sons – and also now are targeting his wife’s investments in real-estate ventures with owners of the Mets.
Prosecutors revealed that Madoff’s sons, Andrew and Mark, had received seven loans from their dad between 2004 and 2008 worth $31.55 million.
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The last of those loans – $4.3 million to Andrew Madoff last Oct. 6 – was made two months before Bernard told his sons that his investment advisory business was nothing but a sham, which prompted them to turn him in to the FBI.
Bernard, in a late December sworn filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, had disclosed that Ruth loaned their sons between $4 million and $7 million – much less than the amount detailed yesterday in the filing by federal prosecutors in Manhattan. Andrew and Mark Madoff both worked for their father’s company.
Prosecutors want Bernard to forfeit the promissory notes signed by his sons for the loans.
They also want forfeiture of investments he and Ruth made in a series of ventures.
It’s been reported that Mets owner Fred Wilpon, his relatives and companies operated by the Wilpon family lost as much as $300 million in the scam by Madoff, who was jailed last week after pleading guilty to the $65 billion Ponzi scheme.
A US Bankruptcy court filing that lists Madoff’s clients includes the names of hundreds of Wilpon-linked entities bearing the business name Sterling.
Prosecutors now are demanding title to all ownership interests “held in the name of Ruth Madoff and/or Bernard Madoff” in Sterling Equity Partners, several Sterling American Property limited partnerships and another Sterling corporation.
Sterling spokesman Richard Auletta said Bernard “did not have an ownership interest in the Mets, nor did Ruth.” He also said Bernard never invested in any Sterling entity but that Ruth and Bernard’s brother, Peter, did.
“Ruth Madoff, and in certain instances, Peter Madoff, have made investments as passive limited partners in real-estate funds sponsored by the partners of Sterling Equities, as well as a limited number of other venture-capital-type investments in which the partners of Sterling Equities have an interest,” Auletta said.
The feds also want the Madoffs to forfeit investments they have in P.J. Clarke’s restaurants in Manhattan, a San Francisco restaurant, and a Hoboken, NJ, radiology practice, among other ventures.
Prosecutors said they also want Ruth to forfeit pieces of jewelry valued at $2.6 million, and 35 sets of watches and cufflinks owned by Bernard.
And prosecutors called Bernard a flight risk in a separate filing yesterday, opposing his bid to be freed pending his June sentencing. Arguments on that matter will be heard by an appellate panel tomorrow.