(Washington, DC) - Letter to be read at rally organized by victims after Madoff sentencing on Monday

U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) today sent the following letter to the victims of Bernie Madoff who are planning to hold a rally on Monday – in New York’s Foley Square – after the Wall Street swindler is sentenced. Organizers of the rally are expected to read the letter at the event.

Ackerman, a Senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee, represents hundreds of constituents in his Queens/Long Island district who are victims of Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Ackerman is presently sponsoring legislation that would allow Madoff investors to receive refunds for the past 13 years of taxes they paid on phantom profits. The Congressman also urged the IRS Commissioner to allow victims to claim theft loss on their taxes (which will be permitted), and he recently wrote to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Schapiro asking her to clearly define the scope of the insurance that the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) will be providing to Madoff victims and to provide the maximum amount of insurance possible to Madoff investors.
 
Earlier this year, Ackerman blasted SEC officials for failing to catch Madoff’s fraud as they testified on the matter before a House Financial Services Subcommittee.

Below is the text of the letter.

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Dear Madoff Survivors:

Today is bittersweet. While justice will surely be served and Bernard Madoff will be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in a small, barren cell, there is no prison term to which Judge Chin could sentence Mr. Madoff that could possibly make his victims financially or emotionally whole. There is no prison term that could possibly return to the defrauded the billions of dollars that, collectively, Mr. Madoff has stolen. And the knowledge that Mr. Madoff will spend the rest of his life in prison will not give his victims back the last seven anguish-filled months of their lives.

Even as we gather today to celebrate justice, there are still many unanswered questions: How did the government regulators allow Mr. Madoff to defraud his customers for decades? Does the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insurance include the profits were accrued over time or is the insurance limited to the actual investments minus any withdrawals? What assets, if any, can be reasonably expected to be recovered?

Unfortunately, none of us knows the answers for certain. What I do know, however, is that it is absolutely unconscionable for the government to turn its back on Mr. Madoff’s victims. And so, along with my colleagues in the Congress, I will continue to demand that the SIPC provide the maximum amount of insurance possible to all of Mr. Madoff’s victims; I will continue to press the Securities and Exchange Commission to improve drastically its enforcement; and I will continue to advocate for consideration of legislation that I’ve introduced, which would provide Mr. Madoff’s victims with refunds for the federal income taxes they paid on phantom profits.

During this time of unimaginable grief, I hope that you will find strength from your loved ones and from your faith, and in the knowledge that you have friends in Washington who are trying to do what’s right. As my mother would say, az men ken nit iberhar'n dos shlechteh, ken men dos guteh nit derleben; he who doesn’t live through the bad can’t live to see the good.

Sincerely,


GARY L. ACKERMAN
Member of Congress

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