Madoff victims found in Sonoma County

<p>The massive fraud allegedly orchestrated by Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff reached all the way across the country into Sonoma County, where a half-dozen local investors were victims.</p><p>The local investors, named in a document filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, find themselves caught up in what prosecutors are calling the largest Ponzi scheme in history.</p><p>They range from Sebastopol author and psychologist John Grey to Santa Rosa retiree Kenzie MacInnes. Both declined to comment Friday.</p><p>Another victim, Petaluma accountant Jerome Porter, said he was completing “a bunch of forms” to apply for any funds available to Madoff investors who lost money in the multibillion-dollar fraud scheme.</p><p>“They’re kind of onerous and that’s the recourse we have. If you want to recover any money, that’s what you do,” Porter said.</p><p>The 162-page client list was compiled by a court-appointed trustee hired to help sort out the mess after Madoff was arrested in December.</p><p>Madoff, who is confined to home detention at his Manhattan apartment, allegedly admitted to his sons that he had run a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.</p><p>The list was pieced together using files from Madoff’s defunct investment firm as well as from customers who say they have lost money. </p><p>It is dotted with celebrities from the worlds of sports, business and entertainment, including director Steven Spielberg, actor John Malkovich, talk-show host Larry King, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax, World Trade Center developer Larry Silverstein and New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg.</p><p>Overall, the list includes about 8,000 names gleaned from Madoff’s records, although many of its names are merely trustees or agents for those who actually lost money, not the victims themselves. And some of the names may not belong there at all, as the trustee acknowledged in a statement on his Web site, www.madofftrustee.com.</p><p>Still, the flawed roster is the first step in verifying the legitimate claims against the Madoff estate, which currently has assets of about $950 million.</p><p>Not all of Madoff’s investors lost money.</p><p>Grey and his former wife, Bonney Meyer, earned good returns for nearly two decades, even during financial market downturns. Following the couple’s divorce more than a year ago, Meyer pulled out her share from Madoff’s fund. Her former husband left his money with Madoff, she said. When Madoff’s financial fraud was revealed, she was relieved, but also left gun-shy about making future investments.</p><p>“I walked around in shock for about a week thinking I could be flat broke right now if I didn’t trust my intuition,” said Meyer, a life coach living in Sebastopol. “It woke me up. It means I need to pay more attention to what’s going on. And of course it makes me very squeamish with investing with anyone.”</p><p>The couple first invested with Madoff in 1990 at the recommendation of a friend in Arizona already in the fund. They were wealthy enough to get in and take on the risk.</p><p>Meyer said the years of strong gains sometimes seemed too good. She ultimately became uneasy with the fund’s success whatever the market’s conditions, as well as having all her investments in one place.</p><p>“I always thought what must go up must come down. Also, we had everything in Madoff, which didn’t make sense to me at all,” she said.</p><p>After receiving a letter sent to investors by the court-appointed trustee handling Madoff’s assets, Meyer said she considered herself more lucky than smart to have escaped with her money.</p><p>“It’s very far reaching and very devastating,” she said.</p><p>As investors mull their options, many are frustrated with federal regulators who have come under fire for not turning up Madoff’s fraud sooner.</p><p>“I wish they would have uncovered this. This is the testimony to ineptitude that exists,” Porter said.</p><p>The other local victims named in court records were David Johnson, of Sonoma, and Meryl Evens, of Point Reyes Station in northern Marin County. They couldn’t be reached for comment.</p><p>The New York Times contributed to this story.</p>