A new ruling in the Bernard Madoff case could be a cause of great worry for Hub philanthropist Carl Shapiro and his family, who allegedly stacked in $1 billion more from the Ponzi scheme than they put into it.

United States Bankruptcy Court Judge Burton Lifland ruled yesterday that “a trustee unwinding Madoff’s $65 billion scam should use a “net-equity” formula when deciding who lost what”.

The statement means that even though many victims may claim that they lost millions to the scam, if they withdrew more from their Madoff accounts than they put in, they could actually ‘owe money’.

The Shapiros, for instance, reportedly claim Madoff took them and their foundation for some $550 million.

Lifland, in the 53-page ruling, said, “Upon a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the plain meaning and legislative history of the statute, controlling Second Circuit precedent, and considerations of equity and practicality, the Court endorses the trustee’s net investment method”.

Brian J. Neville, a New York-based lawyer representing about 100 victims who lost a total of nearly $110 million in the fraud, said he plans to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

“Our firm and our clients are upset. We respectfully disagree with the judge, but as he noted during the oral arguments, this is a case that the Second Circuit will ultimately rule on”, Neville said in a telephone interview today.