Madoff Backer Merkin Claims $41 Million in 740 Park Fire Losses

J. Ezra Merkin, the hedge-fund operator who invested more than $2 billion of his clients’ money in Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, sued his home insurer for $41 million in artwork and other items damaged in a 2016 fire at his 740 Park Avenue duplex.

Merkin, 67, and his wife, Lauren Merkin, sued AIG Property Casualty Co. in state court in Manhattan Monday. Their abbreviated, two-page court filing didn’t specify the pieces of art that were allegedly damaged. Merkin sold a $310 million art collection, including a number of Rothkos, in 2009 as part of deal with then New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in anticipation of a state lawsuit that later settled.