Meet the Anti-Madoff

He may be the best chance Madoff victims have of seeing their stole cash returned, but while he’s getting the job done, Irving H. Picard is hardly a popular man. He’s representing the victims of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme, and is responsible for recouping their lost money—and then deciding who gets repaid and who doesn’t. Picard is looking to recover over $10.1 billion—he has returned $1.25 billion to victims so far—and has spearheaded the lawsuits against those Madoff victims he deemed complicit in the ponzi scheme. Picard may be recovering money for the victims, but it’s never as much as they want, and few are fully satisfied by his work. Says Picard of the daily complaints by victims, “I told my staff at the fund: with this kind of pain, don’t expect a ‘thank you,’ don’t expect a ‘well done.’”