NEW YORK, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The trustee for the victims of Bernie Madoff is seeking as much as $1 billion from New York Mets majority owner Fred Wilpon, a source told The New York Times.
The newspaper Friday cited an unnamed source close to trustee Irving Picard as saying it was possible he could be seeking that amount from Wilpon, his partner and Mets co-owner Saul Katz and their families for the victims of Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.
Picard filed suit against them in December for an undisclosed amount, alleging they had profited from Madoff's actions.
Wilpon announced Friday he's seeking new investors in the Mets, but vowed he wouldn't gave up control of the team.
"To address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners," Wilpon told the Times in a statement.
The newspaper cited several unnamed bankers who said Wilpon was forced to cast a wider net for investors when initial efforts to find backers failed.
