Madoff-Mets Trial Begins

As I previously blogged, Irving Picard, a trustee  who is attempting to recover money for investors of Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent business, has claimed that the owners of the New York Mets owe between $300 million to $1 billion to the fund established to repay Modoff’s investors.  U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff has ruled that the team’s owners must pay up to $83.3 million and has blocked Picard from collecting the full $1 billion sought.

The trial began Monday to determine whether the Mets owners believed Madoff was engaging in fraud but continued to invest in his business regardless. At the close of the trial, the jury will use the standard of “willfully blind” to determine whether the Mets owners overlooked warning signs of potential trouble.   

See Lawyers Step to Plate in NYC Madoff-Mets Contest, CNBC, Mar. 18, 2012.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.