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Redefining Chutzpah

A Madoff victim gives the financier a run for his money

by
Gabriel Sanders
June 29, 2009
Bernard Madoff on March 12, 2009(Getty Images)
Bernard Madoff on March 12, 2009(Getty Images)

Bernard Madoff’s fate may be sealed, but, as a story in today’s Times reports, the jockeying among his victims is only beginning. On one side is Irving H. Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing Madoff victim claims. His position is that claims should be based on “net equity,” or the difference between what investors deposited and what they withdrew. Then there’s Helen Davis Chaitman, a Madoff victim representing more than 100 other victims, whose position is that investors should be reimbursed for the paper value of their accounts—even if their withdrawals exceeded their deposits and even though the figures on their statements bore no connection to reality.

Chaitman’s position seems to us to be pure chutzpah, but just in case it works, does anyone out there have a recent email from a Nigerian businessman in need of a favor?

Investors Compete for a Piece of the Madoff Pie [NYT]

Gabriel Sanders is Tablet’s director of business development.