Federal authorities say prominent Massachusetts businessman and philanthropist Carl Shapiro has agreed to forfeit $625 million that will be distributed to investors who lost money in jailed financier Bernard Madoff's fraud.
The U.S. government filed papers Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan to recover the money from the accounts of JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.
The action came as court-appointed trustee Irving Picard filed a complaint under seal in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to recover money from Sterling Equities, along with its partners and family members.
Picard said in a statement that his office was "engaged in good-faith negotiations'' with the Sterling defendants, which includes the owners of the New York Mets baseball team.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
