LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2010 — Bernard Madoff continues to cause pain and misery for his former investors. A recent announcement by the bankruptcy trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy case advised former investors that any distributions that they may have received from Madoff are in jeopardy of attachment. The bankruptcy trustee has the power to recoup distributions made to investors from the Ponzi scheme, and has indicated that he will do so, if the investors have received more from their Madoff investments than what they originally invested.
"Many former Madoff investors are not large private equity funds or charities, but ordinary people. In some cases their investment with Madoff was their only asset, and if the bankruptcy trustee reaches this asset, these people will be left penniless," notes asset protection attorney Jacob Stein. Unfortunately for many of these people, it may now be too late to do something to shield these assets from the long-reach of the bankruptcy trustee.
In an article published in the August 2010 issue of Estate Planning (a Thomson Reuters publication), Jacob Stein explains that last-minute asset protection planning may be challenged by any creditor (including the bankruptcy trustee in the Madoff case) as a fraudulent transfer, making the asset protection ineffective. "When it comes to last-minute planning, especially when facing a formidable creditor like the Madoff bankruptcy trustee, the asset protection structures have to be especially sophisticated for them to have a chance of working," continues Stein. A copy of the article (entitled Asset Protection May Risk Fraudulent Transfer Violations) may be downloaded here: .
About Jacob Stein and Asset Protection
Jacob Stein and his law partner, Robert F. Klueger, run the nation's leading asset protection law firm, Klueger & Stein, LLP. Klueger & Stein, LLP counts as its clients many former Madoff investors, executives of Fortune 500 companies, business owners and real estate developers and investors. The firm focuses solely on asset protection — keeping assets out of the reach of creditors.
Jacob Stein is an author of numerous articles on asset protection and teaches over 50 seminars a year on this subject. To learn more about asset protection, Jacob Stein, or how to protect the assets of former Madoff investors, please visit .
You can reach Jacob Stein for comment or advice at 818-933-3838 or Email.
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