Madoff Family Sued for $199 Million

With Bernie Madoff already behind bars, members of the famed Ponzi schemer's family are now being brought into court. Irving H. Picard, a court-appointed trustee who has previously sued Ruth Madoff, filed suit on Friday against four more members of Madoff's family, seeking nearly $199 million, which would go to Madoff's defrauded customers. All four Madoffs held top-level positions as senior executives at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, and though the complaint doesn't implicate them in any criminal activity, they stand accused of extreme negligence that allowed the massive Ponzi scheme to thrive. "Simply put," states the complaint, "if the family members had been doing their jobs—honestly and faithfully—the Madoff Ponzi scheme might never have succeeded, or continued for so long."