Ex-Madoff Aide Will Help Picard Find Funds Stolen in Ponzi Scheme

Annette Bongiorno has settled a civil case brought against her over the millions of dollars she and her husband received from managing Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business and their investments with him. Her job under Madoff was to manage customer accounts. Prosecutors accused Bongiorno of making false securities trades. Now, she is serving a six-year-prison term for her role in Madoff’s multi-billion dollar Ponzi scam.

As part of the settlement, Bongiorno is obligated to help trustee Irving Picard recover funds stolen from investors as he continues to liquidate Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. To date, he has recovered or arrived at deals to recover $11.2B of the over $17B in principal that was stolen. Investors have gotten back almost $9.5B.

In addition to making herself available to Picard in his ongoing recovery efforts, Bongiorno must, when requested, provide testimony at deposition or trial. Picard, who is the one that sued her for over $22M, will drop the case as long as she continues to cooperate. As part of the settlement, she must pay $3.9M of stock from an account under her husband’s name.

As part of her conviction for fraud, Bongiorno received a $155.2B forfeiture order representing assets linked to the Madoff Ponzi scam from the federal government. Now, the government will hand back the shares that her husband must pay.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan will review the settlement reached with between the government and the Bongiornos this month.

Meantime, Madoff is serving over 150 years behind bars for bilking clients in a scam that went on for decades. Investors that he defrauded included institutional investors, high net worth investors, including celebrities and other public figures, retail investors, and others. Some victims did not invest directly with him but through feeder funds that did.

In other Madoff-related news, Securities Investors Protection Corp. CEO and President Steve Harbeck recently announced that anyone that invested up to $1.161M with Madoff would get all their money back. Investors who invested more could get at least 61 cents on the dollar back if their securities claims are approved.

Our Ponzi fraud scam lawyers work with investors in recouping their investment losses. Contact The SSEK Partners Group today.
Former Madoff Aide Settles Liquidation Lawsuit, The Wall Street Journal, August 25, 2016

Madoff Assistant Annette Bongiorno Sentenced To 6 Years, Forbes, December 9, 2014

Madoff Trustee