Trustee: Mets Tried to Buy Fraud Insurance

May 23, 2011

A court-appointed trustee says the owners of the New York Mets reaped profits from Bernard Madoff’s financial Ponzi scheme even as they shopped for insurance to protect themselves in case the scam collapsed.

Trustee Irving Picard says partners in Sterling Equities contacted a broker to ask about insuring their account with Madoff in February 2001. In one handwritten note, court records say partner Arthur Friedman wrote the insurance should cover “fraud or fidelity” with the word “Ponzi” in parentheses. Picard filed the court documents Thursday.

Picard claims Sterling partners knew Madoff was stealing from new investors to pay off older investors. He wants them to repay $1 billion to Madoff’s victims.

Sterling denies it knew about Madoff’s wrongdoing. In a written statement, the group said there were no “red flags and they received no warnings.”

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Fraud

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Latest Comments

  • May 23, 2011 at 2:22 pm
    No Tolerance says:
    Of Course the owners of the Mets knew it was a Ponzi. Their punishment should be sending the team to last place in their division.......What? Already one game away from last?... read more
  • May 23, 2011 at 2:11 pm
    Bluemax says:
    Years ago my father told me one could steal more money with a pen than with a gun. I never knew how smart he really was at the time. He was way ahead of his time.
  • May 23, 2011 at 1:30 pm
    A Rod says:
    I thought the Mets were buying fraud insurance just in case they got sued for fielding what they call a baseball team.

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