When it comes to recoveries by trustees for injured victims, not all cases and trustees are created equal. In the Madoff case, trustee Irving Picard continues to uncover assets, often through legal settlements with third-party defendants, that can be distributed to the Madoff victims. Yesterday, Picard announced a more than $1 billion settlement with Tremont Group Holdings, the second-largest “feeder fund” that sent investor money to Madoff. The addition of this money brings the total amount of money recovered by Picard to $8.6 billion. Reuters reports that this recovery is nearly half of the $17.3 billion in Madoff customer losses.

In the Allen Stanford case, the receiver's recovery efforts do not appear to be going as well. CNBC reported last week that an attorney representing Stanford victims recently submitted a motion claiming that of the $119.7 million recovered by the receiver, Ralph Janvey, “$118.2 million has gone to expenses and fees, leaving just $1.5 million for investors.”  The SEC's Inspector General has reportedly begun examining whether  the SEC is properly overseeing Janvey. 

The Stanford investors filing the recent motion claim that there has been malfeasance and waste by the receiver, which the receiver denies as “patently false and completely irresponsible."