Madoff Makes Millions (for Others)

Tuesday’s auction of four boats and a Mercedes Benz convertible once owned by convicted Ponzi operator Bernard Madoff, his wife Ruth, and a former associate netted a little more than $2 million, according to National Liquidators, which handled the auction.

“The auction attracted serious bidders who were interested in the high quality of the vessels,” Bob Toney, president of National Liquidators, said in a news release.

The sales “far exceeded all expectations,” Neil DeSousa, acting U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Florida, said in the release.

That means more money being returned Madoff’s victims.

Here’s how the sale broke down:

• Bull, a 55-foot 1969 Rybovich Sportfish, sold for $700,000.
• Sitting Bull, a 38-foot 2003 Shelter Island Runabout, sold for $320,000.
• Little Bull, a 23-foot 2000 Maverick Boat Co. 2400 Center Console, sold for $21,000.
• Dorothy Jo, a 61-foot 2003 Viking sport fish previously owned by a former Madoff associate, sold for $950,000.
• A 1999 Mercedes Benz CLK 320 convertible with just 12,827 miles, sold for $30,000.

The United States Marshals Service seized the vessels in April and turned them over to National Liquidators in Fort Lauderdale for maintenance and disposal.

Madoff was sentenced in June to 150 years in prison for his role as the mastermind behind the biggest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history.