Madoff "Investors" were not all losers if they cashed out in time...Are they?

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i2rP3-7jG_KcX3kB4KBzvJtQaYYAD95JB8T80

That data could be used by the fund managers to defend themselves against lawsuits, or go after clients deemed to have profited from the scheme and get them to return the cash.
The future is equally cloudy for investors who cashed out entirely before Madoff's arrest.
Their lucky ranks include the Fort Worth Employees Retirement Fund, which invested $7.5 million in a Madoff-related hedge fund years ago, then cashed out last summer after a consultant raised concerns about the investment.
The consultant, due diligence firm Albourne Partners, of London, had long been skeptical of Madoff's reported investment returns.
Fort Worth walked away with $10 million — a sum that included $2.5 million in what now appears to be fraudulent profit.
A lawyer for the public pension fund, Robert Klausner, said he couldn't discuss whether that money might have to be returned, but said the decision to divest was not made because of "special or inside knowledge of what was later reported to be misconduct."
"There just aren't any winners in this deal," Klausner said.

http://www.star-telegram.com/metro_news/story/1134619.html

Fort Worth employees' pension fund caught in Madoff scheme
By MIKE LEE
mlee@star-telegram.com
FORT WORTH — The Fort Worth Employee Retirement Fund could be forced to pay back millions from an investment with Bernard Madoff, who is charged in federal court in New York with running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
The investment represented a small portion of the fund’s assets. But it’s the second time in two years that the fund has been involved with hedge funds that wound up in court.
Taxpayers could have a stake in the problem. Like most pension funds, the Fort Worth fund invests contributions from both the city and municipal employees and pays benefits to retired employees. If the investments don’t earn enough, the city can be forced to make up the difference.