Authorities have reached a $210 million settlement with BNY Mellon subsidiary Ivy Asset Management for advising clients to invest with Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff.
   
The settlement of lawsuits filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, U.S. Labor Department and private plaintiffs also provides for about $9 million in payments by other defendants.
   
Combined with anticipated future payments from Madoff bankruptcy proceedings, Schneiderman says it should return nearly all of the original investments to those who were defrauded, including 78 union pension funds from upstate New York.

Unions that operate in the north country were among those defrauded. They are the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 910, Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 73 and the United Association of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 73, according to a list provided by Schneiderman's office.
   
An Ivy spokesman says the firm is pleased to have reached an agreement that puts those matters behind it.

"Ivy Management violated its responsibilities as an investment advisor," Schneiderman said.

"These were avoidable losses, they kept investing money, a lot of it was money for retirees for investing their pension funds," he said. "This is one of the worst frauds we've seen in a long time."
   
Authorities have said Madoff's Ponzi scheme cost investors an estimated $17.3 billion.

"Between 1998 and 2008, Ivy was paid $40 million to invest with Bernie Madoff," said Schneiderman.

"It was a clear kickback," he said, "and the most appalling thing is that there is evidence that they knew Madoff's operation was a fraud and kept investing."

There is no word when IBEW or the other groups will be receiving their portion of the settlement.

- reported by The Associated Press & 7 News