New York Mets Owners Sued for Pensions Lost in Bernard Madoff Ponzi Scheme

The owners of the New York Mets should be responsible for reimbursing more than $16 million in pension benefits invested on behalf of their workers in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, according to a lawsuit filed by the widow of an employee.

Elyse S. Goldweber, the beneficiary of her late husband’s 401(k) plan, filed suit yesterday against Sterling Equities Inc., which owns the Major League Baseball team, in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The lawsuit, which also named Mets Chief Executive Officer Fred Wilpon, said most of the couple’s $280,420 retirement fund was “wiped out.”

At the time Madoff disclosed in December 2008 that his $65 billion investment venture had collapsed, Wilpon said his family and his business weren’t in financial jeopardy, the lawsuit said.

“Defendant Wilpon’s statement that his family and his business family were all ‘fine’ did not take into account the loss of the retirement savings of many of his employees,” the lawsuit said.

Wilpon has declined to disclose the team’s losses from investments in Madoff funds, the suit said.

The court-appointed trustee working to recover some of the losses said the Mets made a $48 million profit from the $523 million invested with Madoff, the lawsuit said. That determination has made it impossible for the employees to seek compensation from the trustee,

“We believe the complaint has no merit,” the Great Neck, New York-based company said in a statement issued last night. “The Sterling Equities 401(k) Plan and its participants were among the many victims of the Madoff fraud.”

The company said it filed a claim with the insurer of the investment funds, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation or SIPC, and assisted participants with filing claims.

“We believe the participants who were defrauded by Madoff are entitled to the full protection of SIPC and are therefore eligible to be reimbursed for all their losses as is provided under the law,” the company said in its statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

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