The owners of the New York Mets will pay up to $162 million to settle a “clawback” lawsuit filed in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.

Fred Wilpon and his brother-in-law Saul Katz will not have to make payments for three years under the agreement.

The lawsuit was settled Monday morning in Manhattan Federal Court just hours before jury selection was set to begin in the civil trial.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Irving Picard, the trustee charged with recovering billions of dollars in assets stolen in Madoff’s scheme, filed the lawsuit seeking more than $300 million that Wilpon and Katz allegedly made through the scam. A ruling blocked Picard from trying to collect the full $1 billion he sought to recoup.

Picard said the team owners knew that Madoff’s investments were a sham but continued to invest because of the large returns. Lawyers for Wilpon and Katz said their clients had no idea the investments were fraudulent.

Picard has filed hundreds of similar lawsuits seeking to regain money from those who profited the most from the scheme. The money will go into a fund to help victims of Madoff’s scheme.

Madoff pleaded guilty to fraud charges three years ago in the more than $17 billion scheme. Picard reportedly has recovered about $11 billion of the invested principal lost in the scheme.

The Mets’ owners had to sell part of the National League team and have had to cut its payroll because of the ramifications of the scheme and lawsuit.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount