Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that dozens of investors, who have lost hundreds of millions of dollars by investing in Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“Madoff Securities”) through hedge funds and other collective investment funds, have consulted and sought the advice of the Firm. Bernstein Liebhard LLP is investigating whether, among other things, these investment funds conducted proper due diligence before investing heavily in Madoff Securities, and whether these funds ignored the warning signs that Madoff was conducting a large-scale fraud. The Firm is also investigating whether these funds misrepresented to investors the concentration of the funds’ investments in Madoff Securities.
On December 11, 2008, Madoff was arrested by federal authorities who say Madoff admitted to operating a $50 billion Ponzi scheme in which Madoff used the principal investments of new clients to pay fictitious “returns” to other clients. The criminal action against Madoff is pending in the Southern District of New York, 08-Mag-2735. Although Madoff had only a few individual clients that invested directly with him, individuals and institutions across the world invested indirectly and sometimes unknowingly in Madoff’s scheme through “feeder funds” – such as Fairfield Sentry Ltd. (run by the Fairfield Greenwich Group), Rye Select Fund (run by Tremont Group Holdings), and Kingate Global Fund (run by FIM Advisers LLP) – whose sole purpose was to funnel money to Madoff Securities. Hedge funds and funds of funds invested heavily with Madoff’s feeder funds (including Fairfield) despite many warning signs that the consistent returns Madoff delivered were too good to be true.
If you invested in a hedge fund, fund of funds, or other collective investment fund that lost money as a result of its investment in Madoff Securities, you may have a right of action to recoup your losses. Bernstein Liebhard LLP has assembled a team of former government prosecutors, former SEC trial attorneys, and investigators to analyze the various legal claims available to investors injured by the Madoff scheme. To discuss your rights or for more information, contact Jeffrey M. Haber at 212-779-1414 or haber@bernlieb.com.
