Madoff Victims Seethe at SEC

MYFOXNY.COM - If Bernie Madoff is public enemy number one, then to his victims the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is a close number two.

WATCH THE FOX 5 NEWS REPORT (VIDEO TAB)

"There's nothing I'd like to do more than sue the SEC," says Madoff victim Miram Siegman, who adds that she believes the commission has "Total culpability" for not spotting Madoff's scam sooner.

Many of Madoff's victims believe the SEC owes them.

And though no one has ever sued the SEC and won for not protecting them, one lawyer -- Howard Elisofon -- is trying anyway.

This exactly the kind of incompetence and negligence that caused Congress set up the tort reform act," Elisofon says.

While one attorney tries to beat the government in court, another, Helen Chaitman -- herself a Madoff victim, says the Madoff scandal has taught her three lessons.

"SIPC insurance is a scam," Chaitman says. "The second lesson is Americans cannot trust their brokers. The third lesson, you can't rely on the SEC."

Chaitman now advises investors to instruct brokers to put their investments in their name, not street names -- directly registering the stock with the company's records.

It could be at least 5 years before victims hear from the SEC, but they'll know Madoff's fate soon. He is set for sentencing on June 29.

----

AP Report: Judge Delays Restitution Order in Madoff Case

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge who will sentence financier Bernard Madoff next week says the sentencing will take place as scheduled but the complexity of the fraud means he cannot order restitution yet.

Federal Judge Denny Chin said in an order Wednesday that he must delay restitution because of the number of victims and problems caused by faulty record-keeping and the scope, complexity and length of the fraud.

Madoff is scheduled to be sentenced Monday after he pleaded guilty March 12 to securities fraud, perjury and other charges.

He has admitted to operating a Ponzi scheme for decades that cost thousands of investors billions of dollars.

The 71-year-old Madoff faces up to 150 years in prison.