Final Count of Madoff Victims: 15,400

If you lost money in Bernard Madoff’s record-setting Ponzi scheme, well, at least you’ve got plenty of company.

More than 15,400 former clients have filed claims against Madoff’s estate seeking to be reimbursed for their lost retirement accounts, college funds, and other monies, according to new court filings in a New York bankruptcy court cited by a report today in The New York Times.

That final tally is up considerably from the 8,800 claims that had been filed by early June, officials said. In all, Madoff admitted swindling about $65 billion from clients over a period of nearly 20 years. He was sentenced last month to 150 years in prison and said today he does not plan to appeal.

Thousands of clients filed last-minute applications for reimbursement just before the July 2 filing deadline, said attorney Irving H. Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the claims process. Most clients had no idea that instead of investing their funds as he promised, Madoff never made a single legitimate trade and instead circulated funds around among clients in a classic Ponzi scheme.

Madoff investors may also qualify to receive up to $500,000 in compensation from the Securities Investors Protection Corporation, a fund created to repay people who lose money when investment firms go bankrupt.

Many Madoff investors have not fared so well in their quest to get back their swindled money. Picard has filed several lawsuits, so-called “claw back” actions, seeking return of about $13.7 billion from numerous investors who withdrew their funds from Madoff accounts just before the scheme was exposed in December 2008. The resolution of those cases is still pending.

Picard also is seeking return of more than $144,000 in political donations Madoff and his companies made to various campaigns, the Times report said.

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