NEW YORK - Andrew and Mark Madoff, whose father Bernard is serving 150 years in prison for the largest-ever Ponzi scheme, agreed to restrict movement of their own personal assets, not incur debt beyond $1,000, and give a monthly accounting of their expenses.
Peter and Shana Madoff Swanson, Bernard’s brother and niece, signed similar agreements with the trustee liquidating the con man’s estate, Irving Picard, according to documents filed yesterday in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
Picard, who is unwinding Madoff’s defunct investment firm and gathering assets to help pay customers, sued Andrew, Mark, Peter, and Shana in October, claiming they spent almost $199 million of victims’ money and treated the investment firm as their personal bank.
The Madoffs said in court papers that they deny Picard’s allegations and dispute his right to restrict their assets.
They are consenting to the asset freeze to avoid “the potential costs and expenses of the instant dispute,’’ which could prove “substantial,’’ according to the filings.
The asset restrictions prevent the Madoffs and their representatives from selling, leveraging, wasting or moving all their property that is worth more than $1,000, “except for wearing personal clothing and jewelry in the normal course.’’
They must also take “reasonable’’ steps to preserve the value of their possessions, according to the filings.
Peter Madoff was chief compliance officer at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Andrew and Mark were co-directors of trading, and Shana was compliance director, according to Picard.
Also yesterday, the US Marshals Service said Bernard Madoff’s penthouse apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side is under contract to be sold after almost five months on the market.
A contract was signed for an undisclosed price, Deputy US Marshal Roland Ubaldo said in a telephone interview. The Marshals Service is in charge of the disposition of the property, a three-bedroom apartment at 133 East 64th St.
Madoff’s apartment has been on the market for 146 days, according to StreetEasy.com, a property listing service. The price was cut 10 percent in November to $8.9 million after an original listing for $9.9 million.
