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$231 Million Headed To 543 Madoff Victims So Far

So far $231 million has been approved for 543 victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, an average of $425,414 per swindled investor.

The payout comes from Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures investor accounts with brokerage firms up to $500,000 each, similar to the FDIC's backing of up to $250,000 in bank accounts.

The $231 million comes from a larger pot of about $2.7 billion eventually headed to defrauded Madoff investors, who have filed claims so far of $13 billion.

SIPC is funded by the securities industry, sort of the way that the cable industry funds C-Span.

-- Frank Ahrens
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