Bernie Madoff Victims To Receive $2.48 Billion In Payments

1,230 former customers of ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff will receive checks in the mail next week for a total cash return of $2.48 billion. The total recovery amount paid to date now equals $3.63 billion.

Payments in this newest round of recovery range from $1,784 to $526.9 million. The total sum being returned was announced by Irving Picard, the trustee responsible for liquidating assets from Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

According to reports the money will allow 1,074 customers to receive all of their money back, that number is equal to 44 percent of all claims.

While some checks are much smaller in size the average payout is $2.02 million.

According to the US Government Accountability Office, the largest valid customer claims are $1.57bn by Optimal Multiadvisors Ltd and $741m by M-Invest Ltd.

At this time officials have not revealed which company is receiving $526.9 million in returned funds.

The process from arrest to recovery has been a long road for investors. Bernie Madoff was arrested in December 2008 and pled guilty to his wide reaching ponzi scheme three months later.

US bankruptcy judge Burton Lifland authorized the latest distribution after the US supreme court in June ruled that Picard’s method for calculating losses was valid.

To date Picard has recovered $9.15 billion, an amount equal to 53 percent of the $17.3bn believed to have been lost by Bernie Madoff.

While more money is available for distribution ongoing legal battles has tied up much of those funds.

Litigation to close out the Bernie Madoff scandal is expected to continue forward, potentially for years to come.