Two former employees of Bernard L. Madoff Securities LLC have filed lawsuits totaling $1.8 million against Madoff's two sons.
Richard Stahl and Reed Abend claim in lawsuits filed Tuesday in Manhattan that while Madoff defrauded investors of $65 billion, his two sons cheated employees out of compensation they were owed.
Stahl and Abend said they worked for the legitimate trading unit of Madoff securities. They added that Mark and Andrew Madoff falsely told trading employees that negative stories about their father's advisory unit were untrue.
When Madoff's Ponzi scheme collapsed last year, so did the trading business. Stahl said the firm owes him $1.34 million and Abend said he is owed $474,000.
Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty to the Ponzi scheme in March and was ordered directly into custody to wait for his June 29 sentencing. He could get up to 150 years in prison.
Just Monday, prosecutors submitted more than 100 victim statements to a judge ahead of the sentencing. Some of those victims will be able to address Madoff and the court.
Earlier this month, the brothers told Vanity Fair that their mother, Ruth Madoff, knew about the scam.
Lawyers for Stahl and Abend and for the Madoffs did not return calls.
