NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Mets owners are stepping to the plate to try to convince a jury that they didn’t know financier Bernard Madoff was operating a Ponzi scheme.
A jury in federal court in Manhattan will hear Mets owners testify about their relationship with Madoff. He is serving a 150-year prison sentence after admitting in 2008 that his investment business was a sham. He lost about $20 billion for investors.
A trustee recovering money for thousands of investors sued the Mets owners for $1 billion, saying their friendship with Madoff helped them profit from his fraud. A judge presiding over the case has already ordered the owners to pay up to $83 million. The trial getting under way Monday will determine if they owe up to $303 million more.