Lawsuit of the Week

Some time ago we posted a link to a Sports Biz post regarding Bernie Madoff's relationship with the New York Mets, or perhaps more appropriately, the owning Wilpon family and its investment vehicles. The question that day in late 2009 (yes, we were surprised it has been that long since this saga began as well) was whether or not the Wilpon family funds had turned a profit off of Madoff's schemes. Apparently they did, because last week Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee tasked with remedying the fallout from the collapsed pyramid, filed a lawsuit seeking to reclaim about $300 million in fictitious profits. This is sure to be a long, drawn out and difficult process considering that the Wilpon's vehicle, Sterling Equities, had over 480 accounts with Madoff, and as the Wilpons claim that Picard has not accounted for some of the losses they themselves logged. Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear; we are unfortunately far from hearing the last of the name Madoff.