Irving Picard, the man in charge of liquidating Bernie Madoff's assets, is asking for $22.1 million in fees for the last five months of work he and his firm have put in on the case, on top of the $14.6 million he's already been paid. But that includes a 10 percent "public interest discount," so don't even think of suggesting Picard isn't generous. [Bloomberg]

Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme ultimately defrauded investors out of $21.2 billion, according to Irving Picard, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the case. That's considerably more than the $13 billion put forward by prosecutors at Madoff's sentencing in June. But that's a lot less than the $65 billion that's been bandied about for many months now, which includes the fictitious profits Madoff had "made" for his clients. The revised figure won't diminish his status as the biggest fraudster in American history. Madoff can still hold his head high when he steps into the prison yard and rest assured no one's taking that trophy away from him anytime soon. [NYT]

When Irv Picard makes a promise, he keeps it. A few days ago, the trustee overseeing the Madoff mess said he planned to file a lawsuit against several other members of the Madoff clan—including Bernie's brother, two sons, and niece—for treating the family firm like a "piggy bank." And today he delivered, filing an action in federal bankruptcy court seeking the return of $199 million.

Irving Picard has the thankless job of divvying up the remaining crumbs of Bernie Madoff's empire among the Madoff victims. But Irving Picard is going to be much more popular now that he's finally suing Madoff's family, for everything.

Victims of Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme may have to wait 15 years before all of his assets are accounted for and re-distributed. Serving as the court-appointed receiver or trustee assigned to wind down a Ponzi scheme? That may be one of the most lucrative assignments around.

The only moneymaking scheme better than the one Bernie Madoff operated for two decades (if only because it's perfectly legal): the one that Madoff court-appointed trustee Irving Picard is now running. Picard's firm is charging $1 million a week to disassemble Madoff's investment firm and is stands to collect as much as $250 million when all is said and done. [NYP]

Giving up her Upper East Side penthouse and all of its contents may not be all that Ruth Madoff has to sacrifice for living off her husband's vast Ponzi scheme for all those years: Irving Picard, the trustee liquidating Bernie Madoff's investment advisory business, slapped Ruthie with a lawsuit today. Picard claims she was "massively enriched" by her husband's $65 billion Ponzi scheme (duh), and says he's identified an additional $44.8 million "that is subject to recapture." Ruth's lawyer says the suit is "perplexing and totally unjustified," since she's already forfeited most of her assets. You can read the full suit below if you have nothing better to do this rainy afternoon. But if you're a salesperson at Neiman Marcus or Barneys, you probably should take this as a sign that Ruthie's regularly-scheduled shopping expedition this weekend is not happening.