Madoff fund pays $695M to victims

The fund set up to compensate Bernie Madoff's victims began making its third distribution of $695.4 million Thursday, the Justice Department announced.

The payout brings the fund's total distribution to nearly $2 billion and will be sent to more than 27,000 victims who were targeted by the Ponzi schemer.

The most recent payments bring their “total recovery” to 56.6%, according to the Justice Department.

“Madoff's scheme devastated retirement and pension funds, charitable organizations and thousands of individual investors spread across 49 states, the District of Columbia and 121 other countries,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski. “The payments announced today could not have happened without the prosecutors' relentless pursuit of proceeds of Madoff's fraud through civil forfeiture.”