Madoff investors cannot sue SEC, federal appeals court says

Investors who lost big when Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme unraveled cannot sue federal regulators, despite the government’s “regrettable inaction,” a federal appeals court ruled.

Madoff victims had sued, arguing that the Securities and Exchange Commission was negligent for failing to uncover the Ponzi scheme even though the regulator received multiple complaints over the years.

On Wednesday in New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit dismissed those claims, agreeing with a district court that the SEC’s actions or inaction are protected under the law.

Madoff is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence for his multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that came to light in December 2008.

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