I hope they attempt to recover the money from the friends he gave it to under the guise of “return on investment” payments. If no money was actually invested, then they should not have any legal entitlement to it.
If it turns out that there is no law allowing the money to be recouped from those who gained from it, then it seems like now would be a good time to pass such a law to keep future recipients of scammed money from being able to keep it.