19 March 2012 Last updated at 13:37 ET

Mets owners settle Bernard Madoff lawsuit

The owners of the Mets denied any wrongdoing

The owners of the New York Mets baseball team have agreed to pay $162m (£102m) to settle a lawsuit which accused them of being "wilfully blind" to Bernard Madoff's Ponzi fraud.

The civil case against Mets' owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz was brought by Irving Picard, trustee for Madoff's victims.

Mr Wilpon and Mr Katz will not have to pay any money for at least three years. Both denied any wrongdoing.

Madoff was jailed in 2009.

The New York-based investment-fund owner was found guilty of orchestrating a $20bn fraud, which used the funds of new joiners to pay long-term members.

Mr Wilpon and Mr Katz had invested with Madoff for 25 years, insisting that they did so in "good faith", and had no knowledge of the fraud.

The settlement was announced just as the case was due to go to court in New York.

Mr Katz said: "We are very pleased to have this behind us.

"We have done everything in good faith. The settlement itself bears that out."