Jul. 6--Bernard L. Madoff, the financial scamster extraordinaire, may be behind bars for the rest of his life, but his legacy will drag on for years as his thousands of victims battle in court to recoup money from Wall Street's biggest fraud.

His investors can expect to get back something. But it will be nowhere near the substantial sums they thought they had in their accounts before he was arrested Dec. 11 for running a massive Ponzi scheme. Madoff, 71, was sentenced to 150 years in prison last week.

So far the bankruptcy-court-appointed trustee, who is responsible for recovering money for Madoff's customers, has pulled together about $1.2 billion of at least $13.2 billion in losses.

The trustee, Irving H. Picard, isn't finished. He's still selling the assets from Madoff's business, trolling through records and demanding that investors who withdrew profits return those funds.

And he's not the only one going after those who may have benefited from Madoff's fraud.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, lambasted for failing to detect the epic swindle, has filed civil charges against brokerage Cohmad Securities and investment advisor Stanley Chais, who steered investors' money to Madoff. The agency wants the defendants to turn over tens of millions in profits.

"Everything the SEC collects will be for the benefit of investors," said agency spokesman John Heine.

Separately, the New York attorney general last week announced that a money manager connected with the scandal agreed to sell his famed art collection, possibly yielding nearly $200 million that could eventually go to investors.

Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, are close to charging at least 10 more people in connection with the scandal, the Associated Press has reported, citing an unnamed source close to the investigation. Madoff has said he acted without help.

Additional convictions could lead to the seizure of more assets, on top of possessions previously taken from Madoff and his wife, Ruth. As part of his criminal settlement, Madoff agreed to give up claims to all his holdings, including his homes in New York and Palm Beach. Ruth, who is left with $2.5 million, moved out of their Upper East Side Manhattan apartment on Thursday as U.S. marshals took control.

Still, it's difficult to gauge just how much money will ultimately be recovered and turned over to investors.

Early estimates put investor losses from the fraud at close to $65 billion, based on fake account statements sent to customers. Prosecutors recently lowered the loss estimate to about $13 billion after a review of records, though that figure could still rise.