Are they being punished for the sins of their father? Or are they being justly sued because they were integral to the massive Ponzi Scheme that landed their father in jail?

Madoff's sons Mark and Andrew, his brother Peter and niece Shana all are seeking to have the suit by trustee Irving Picard against them thrown out. He sued the four Madoffs in a single lawsuit for $198.7 million a year ago. He also sued Madoff's wife. He accuses them of being negligent in their duties as executives of the firm and enriching themselves with ill-gotten funds.

The defendants argue, as they have all along, that they worked for the firm's legitimate market-making and proprietary trading units, not the controversial investment advisory arm.

So were the sons complicit? It's been a great discussion for years. Some, of course, argue that if they weren't complicit, they should have at least suspected the fraud--and done something.

In any case, the judge will likely soon make a ruling, and many are betting he allows the suit to proceed. "This is a real close family unit, so rogue activity, if it did take place, should be easily discoverable, shouldn't it? One would think," said the judge at a recent hearing.

For more:
- here's a Reuters article

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