The Jewish federation that covers the enclave where Bernard Madoff found many of his ultra wealthy victims says that it had none of its own funds invested with Madoff Securities.
Madoff found many of his clients in Palm Beach, where he had a $10 million home. Though the wealthy Jewish community there has been financially and emotionally rocked, according to this story in the Times, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach county, which collected $31 million during its last fiscal year, had no investments with Madoff.
“It is my understanding that the federation or any of its departments did not have any investments or financing through his organization,” a spokesman for the federation told JTA Monday.
Madoff had been a donor to the federation, but was never a major one, meaning he had never given more than $36,000 in any single year.
He also gave nothing to the federation during its fiscal year 2008, which ended in June. He made his last gift in 2007.
The federation is now trying to figure out what damage Madoff did to its donor base, which could be significant.
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