Those who lost money investing with jailed shyster Bernie Madoff will be getting some of their ill-advised expenditures back this week, thanks to the bankruptcy court-mandated liquidation of his estate.

The New York Times DealBook reports $312 million went out to investors in the mail today, spread out over 1,230 account holders who will receive 4.6 percent of their losses. Thanks to out-of-court settlements in addition to these payments, the victims could end up recovering more than half the money they lost. Those who recovered their cash before the Ponzi scheme imploded aren’t eligible to receive any of the funds.

The trustee handling the liquidation says he’s tried to be quick about returning the funds, explaining “the need among many Madoff customers is urgent, and we are working to expedite these distributions.”

Madoff Victims Set to Get First Payments [DealBook]

Previously: Judge Tells Madoff Investors They Won’t Get All Their Fake Money Back

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