Lawyer: Madoff Assets Pass $1 Billion Mark

[bijou]

NEW YORK —  More than $1 billion in assets from Bernard Madoff's businesses have been found, a lawyer for the trustee trying to recover money for jilted investors said Monday.

The lawyer, David Sheehan, said $75 million in an account in Gibraltar raises the amount of assets located past the $1 billion mark.

Sheehan spoke after a hearing in which government lawyers tried to block court-appointed trustee Irving Picard from gaining power of attorney over Madoff's international operation.


Sheehan argued that power of attorney over Madoff's accounts was an important tool, especially since actions may need to be taken quickly in foreign countries where things can happen to assets without warning.

For instance, Sheehan said, the trustee has been told that French authorities were planning to seize Madoff's chateau in Cap d' Antibe, France. The property was estimated by Madoff to be worth $1 million at the end of 2008, with $900,000 of furnishings and fine art inside it.

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,510281,00.html