Supreme Court lets stand lower court ruling blocking $4B in payouts to Madoff victims

The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from the trustee trying to recover nearly $4 billion for victims of Bernard Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme.

The justices on Monday let stand a lower court decision that blocked trustee Irving Picard from recovering and distributing nearly $2 billion and raised questions about an additional $2 billion in potential recoveries and distributions.

A federal appeals court ruled last year that some Madoff customers who received more in payouts from Madoff than their original investment were protected under bankruptcy laws.

Picard said the ruling guts his authority to recover money from those who profited from illegal schemes and redistribute money to those who did not.