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The last day of 2008 will be an eventful one in the SEC’s civil case against Bernard Madoff that is now pending before Judge Louis L. Stanton of the SDNY. Beginning tomorrow, Judge Stanton will consider three important issues in the case, the NY Times reports.
First, Judge Stanton will consider investor requests to broaden the protections normally available to investors in failed Wall Street firms under the Securities Investor Protection Corporation to allow for the “devastating” circumstances of the Madoff scandal. Many of the victims in the fraud scheme were not direct customers of the Madoff brokerage firm, but rather in various “feeder funds.” The NY Times reports that
In a letter posted in the court docket on Monday, one of those indirect investors — Daniel R. Goldenson of Bremen, Me. — urged Judge Stanton to consider looking past those feeder funds to the individuals ultimately affected by Mr. Madoff’s collapse. They, not just the feeder funds, should be considered direct customers of Mr. Madoff’s firm, Mr. Goldenson argued.
Second, the court will need to confirm with the SEC that Madoff has provided a full accounting of his and his New York firm’s assets by tomorrow, the deadline he set earlier this month.
Finally, the NY Times reports, the court has been notified by the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff’s brokerage firm that he will send out the first mass notification to customers of the firm by the end of next week (previously discussed here).
