Madoff Wins a Round Against Litigious Pro Se Inmate

Over the past three years, Jonathan Lee Riches has filed over 1,000 lawsuits. Among the defendants were former President George W. Bush, pop singer Britney Spears and celebrity home decorator Martha Stewart.

His litigious history apparently did not help the federal prison inmate when he sought to be included in the Securities Investor Protection Corp. case against alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme architect Bernard Madoff, reports the DealBook blog of the New York Times.

"On Friday in federal bankruptcy court, Judge Burton R. Lifland denied Mr. Riches’ motion to intervene in the case, stating that his 'asserted possession of ‘juicy details’ was not grounds for intervention," the blog recounts. The judge sits in the Southern District of New York.

If, as he claims, Riches (and other inmates) invested with Madoff, he can get in line in bankruptcy court along with other creditors, the judge noted.