Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s foundation was among the charitable groups that invested with Bernard Madoff, who was arrested last week after telling his sons he committed a $50 billion fraud.

“Senator Lautenberg’s foundation was an investor in Bernard Madoff’s investment fund, primarily in the form of his family’s charitable foundation,” Scott Mulhauser, a senior adviser on Lautenberg’s Senate staff, said yesterday in a statement.

The foundation run by Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat, invested $12.8 million of its $13.8 million in assets with Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities at the end of 2006, according to a tax return for the organization. The Madoff investments returned $1.58 million, or 12.4 percent, in 2006, and the foundation gave $765,509 to 106 organizations.

Madoff also managed money for the foundations of filmmaker Steven Spielberg, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and clothier Carl Shapiro, according to tax returns. Madoff, 70, was charged with fraud after his sons told U.S. authorities that he confessed to overseeing a Ponzi scheme with $50 billion in losses, the biggest in history.

Lautenberg, 84, declined comment on Madoff, according to Mulhauser. An attorney for the foundation, Michael Griffinger, didn’t return a call seeking comment yesterday.

Behind Rockefeller

Lautenberg’s net worth ranks ninth out of 100 U.S. senators, just behind U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, according to the Center for Responsive Politics Web site. Lautenberg’s worth is from $53.3 million to $125.7 million, according to the center’s analysis of his financial disclosure forms, which puts a range on the value of his assets.

The Lautenberg foundation’s largest donation in 2006 was $352,500 to the United Jewish Appeal of MetroWest NJ in Whippany, New Jersey, according to the tax return.

At the end of 2005, the foundation had $11.7 million of its $13.1 million invested with Madoff, according to the return. Madoff’s portion earned $1.1 million on the sales of securities, interest and dividends, for a total return of 9.2 percent, according to the return.

The foundation gave $672,324 to 112 organizations that year, including $217,861 to Columbia University, his alma mater.

At the end of 2004, the foundation also had $10.7 million invested with Madoff, earning $1.04 million on interest, dividends and the sales of securities, for a total return of 9.7 percent, according to the return. The foundation gave $449,952 to 110 organizations, including $97,000 to Columbia.

To contact the writer on the story: David Voreacos in Newark, New Jersey at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 16, 2008 00:01 EST