Bernard Madoff will file a list of his assets with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, his lawyer said, meeting the regulator's deadline for disclosure of what money he has left, Bloomberg reported.
"We are going to make the filing," attorney Ira Sorkin said in an interview. A federal judge ordered Madoff on Dec. 18 to provide the SEC with a list of all investments, loans, lines of credit, business interests, brokerage accounts and other holdings. Sorkin and SEC spokesman John Heine declined to comment on whether the filing will be made public.
Madoff, 70, was charged earlier this month by federal prosecutors and sued by the SEC for securities fraud for allegedly directing a $50 billion Ponzi scheme through his New York investment firm. Sorkin has said Madoff's company is cooperating with the government. His client met with prosecutors earlier this month, according to people familiar with the case.
Shortly before he was arrested, Madoff allegedly told employees that he had $200-$300 million left, according to an FBI complaint. Sorkin declined to comment on the amount of Madoff's remaining assets. Yesterday, the trustee now in charge of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC obtained court approval to use $28.1 million out of its accounts as it unwinds the firm.
"The estate requires the funding to get to the sale of certain assets," said Richard Bernard, an attorney representing Irving Picard, the trustee appointed by Securities Investor Protection Corp. to supervise Madoff's company.