The US Justice Department announced Monday the tenth and final distribution of funds to the victims of financier and fraudster Bernard Madoff.
Over $131.4 million will be provided through the Madoff Victim Fund to over 23,000 victims worldwide. The ten distributions saw the MVF pay over $4.3 billion from forfeited funds to 40,930 victims in 127 countries due to the collapse of the Madoff's Investment Securities LLC.
“This office has never stopped at pursuing justice for victims of history’s largest Ponzi scheme,” New York Southern District Acting US Attorney Edward Kim said in the department statement.
FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director in Charge James Dennehy said that the victims " implicitly trusted Madoff with their investments only to ultimately lose significant monies to his selfish plan."
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 for running what the department said was the "largest fraudulent scheme in history." Madoff, who had been heavily involved in Jewish philanthropy before his fall from grace, died in prison in 2021.