NEW YORK - The liquidator for Bernard Madoff’s business does not need to give evidence revealing why he chose to ignore victims’ fake profit from the fraud when calculating their claims in the case, a judge ruled.
A proposed investigation of liquidator Irving Picard, sought by Lawrence Velvel, a Madoff victim who is dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, was rejected yesterday by US Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland.
“The discovery requests, having much of the indicia of a fishing expedition, are overbroad, unduly burdensome, expensive, irrelevant and subject to privilege,’’ Lifland wrote. Denial of the probe is “in the best interests of the estate.’’
Picard is calculating claims based on cash deposits minus withdrawals, ignoring fake profit and reducing claims from customers, who thought they had $65 billion invested in Madoff’s company.
Picard said last month that actual cash losses were about $21 billion. The calculation has emerged as one of the most contentious aspects of the liquidation, with a final hearing on the matter scheduled for Feb. 2.
Madoff, 71, is serving a 150-year sentence for paying earlier investors with money from newer ones in the world’s biggest Ponzi scheme.
