Irving Picard, the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Bernie Madoff's brokerage revised the con man’s fictitious customer statements downward to $52 billion from about $65 billion as claims were withdrawn from the liquidation proceeding.  The new number appears on Picard's website. The $65 billion was calculated on Nov. 30, 2008, before Madoff’s arrest. In the three years since his appointment, Picard has raised about $8.7 billion to pay claims, mostly through settlements with investors whom he sued, accusing them of participating in the fraud. About $6 billion of that amount is tied up in court challenges, including $5 billion from Jeffry Picower’s estate and $1 billion from Tremont Group Holdings Inc., according to the website. Picard spent $434 million liquidating the estate through September, including fees for himself and his law firm of more than $200 million. Picard so far has paid $325.5 million to investors who lost money in the Ponzi scheme holding approved claims of $7.3 billion, according to madofftrustee.com. The Securities Investor Protection Corp. has committed $797.8 million to Madoff investors, it said. Picard, who has filed 1,000 lawsuits seeking $100 billion from banks such as HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase has seen more than $28 billion of his claims tossed by district judges. He is currently appealing the rulings. His $59 billion suit against UniCredit SpA and Bank Medici AG founder Sonja Kohn is being reviewed by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff. The main case is Securities Investor Protection Corp. v. Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, 08-ap-1789, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).  [Bloomberg - 1/3/12]