Mets co-owners and their families reaped millions from Bernie Madoff’s scheme. There were, at last count, 483 Wilpon accounts with Madoff:
Fred Wilpon Sterling Equities co-founder; Mets co-owner Earnings: $52.8M from 57 Madoff accounts
Judith Wilpon Fred’s wife Earnings: $24.7M from six Madoff accounts
Iris Katz Saul’s wife Earnings: $35M from six Madoff accounts
Saul Katz Sterling Equities co-founder; Mets co-owner Earnings: $45M from 68 Madoff accounts
Jeff Wilpon Fred and Judith’s son, Sterling exec VP, Mets COO Earnings: $37M from 62 Madoff accounts
Richard Wilpon Fred’s brother, Sterling Equities partner, Mets board member Earnings: $23.1M from 60 Madoff accounts
Michael Katz Saul’s brother, Sterling Equities partner, Mets board member Earnings: $19.1M from 59 Madoff accounts
Heather Katz Knopf Saul and Iris’ daughter Earnings: $33M from 44 Madoff accounts
SOURCE http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/amazin_kin_all_had_to_bern_dwIueqtoYrU2uhjaoXEUaL
BACKSTORY Sterling Equities Inc, asked a court to order the trustee liquidating con man Bernard Madoff's firm to turn over documents supporting a $1 billion claim against Sterling. ..... < snip > The $1 billion legal fight, in which trustee Irving Picard wants to recover $300 million in alleged phony profit from Madoff's scheme made by Sterling and as much as $700 million in principal, is being mediated by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. The mediation has started and “will be impossible if the Sterling defendants do not have access to all of the trustee's pre-complaint discovery,” according to the filing. ..... < snip > ..... Picard claims the Mets owners used $90 million in Madoff profits for day-to-day operations, blinding them to “red flags” signaling that Madoff was a fraud. Mets Chairman Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, the team's president, have called the claims “abusive, unfair and untrue.” ..... Sterling Equities (Wilpon and Katz) which owns the Mets Major League Baseball team claims Picard is delaying production of the requested relevant documents they need to keep the $1Billion Picard's clawing back. Court-appointed trustee Picard claims that requested documents and transcripts are the "good faith" allegations and dismisses Sterling's filing for documents as "frivolous."
Madoff says the Met’s guy is not guilty ... which makes me wonder.
Did Madoff’s plan have SEC approval? If so, how could people who took money out be required to give it back.
Bump
Ever since Bernie fessed up, I have been saying that was impossible for ONE person, (as Bernie maintains) or even a few, to carry on such a complex financial fraud for decades. You need far more people, far more ACCOMPLICES...this may be the first crack in that facade..
It sounds like this guy Katz smelled a rat and bailed just in time.
Good for him.
It would seem to me that the Bankruptcy Judge, or whomever is handling Bernie's Ponzi scheme money, should SEIZE the NY METS and sell them off to the highest bidder(s) to repay Bernie's *innocent* victims.
And then, have these crooks Indicted and Stand Trial too!