JPMorgan now faces $19B suit over Madoff

The trustee in the Bernard Madoff case beefed up his lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase Bank and some related companies Friday and is now seeking $19 billion in damages, up from $5.4 billion when the case was originally filed last year.

In papers filed in Manhattan federal bankruptcy court, trustee Irving Picard said he was seeking additional damages from JPMorgan Chase after he uncovered new evidence that he claimed showed the bank saw that Madoff customer money wasn't being used to buy or sell securities. The Madoff scam cost investors around $20 billion.

The amended complaint also alleged that the accounts of two Madoff customers who were also private banking clients of JPMorgan -- the late Norman Levy and Sterling Equities -- showed what Picard deemed to be unusual transactions with Madoff's corporate bank account known by the designation "703."

Deborah Renner, one of Picard's lawyers, said in a news release that JPMorgan bankers could see that Madoff's firm was merely transferring customers' funds in "patterns serving no legitimate business purpose."

A spokesman for JPMorgan didn't return a telephone call for comment late Friday. Picard first sued the bank last December. The bank has moved to have Picard's complaint dismissed, which triggered the new amended filing. JPMorgan now has until Aug. 1 to respond, Picard said in a prepared statement.

Picard said that all of the money he recovers after trial from JPMorgan will be distributed to Madoff victims who have filed claims.

Picard also has sued Sterling Equities, owner of the New York Mets, for up to $1 billion. Sterling has denied knowing of Madoff's fraud and a spokesman was unavailable for comment late Friday. The Sterling case is in mediation before former Gov. Mario Cuomo. Picard settled last year with the Levy estate for just over $200 million.

Since 2009, Picard has filed lawsuits which now total close to $80 billion.