Victims of Bernard Madoff and accused fraudster Allen Stanford are joining together to ask Congress to help make them and future victims whole.
Bloomberg reports that the groups have combined to ask Congress to amend the regulatory overhaul bill now under Senate consideration such that brokerage firms will pay about $4 billion in additional, retroactive fees to SIPC. The victims also reportedly want Congress to require SIPC to compensate them up to $500,000 each for losses.
Duke Law professor James Cox said the lobbying initiative “gives new meaning to the word chutzpah. This is just a tax increase. It’s levied on banks but customers end up paying.”
