Madoff Customer Pool May Grow to $7.3 Billion by July 16

The liquidator of Bernard Madoff’s brokerage may have $5 billion more by next month to increase a planned payout from a $2.3 billion fund for victims of the Ponzi scheme if no further court challenges are filed.

Madoff trustee Irving Picard announced the possible increase in a statement after the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal by investors seeking compensation for lost profit. That decision frees most of a $2.3 billion customer fund by reducing the scheme’s calculated total to about $17 billion covering only lost investments and excluding so-called fake profit that would have raised the total to $57 billion.