On February 5, 2010, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York approved proposed settlement agreements and reconfirmed a restitution order for the distribution of assets from the estates of convicted swindler Marc Dreier and his law firm, Dreier LLP.  The court order responded to objections by certain hedge fund victims to those agreements, which had been reached between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Trustees in Bankruptcy overseeing the estates of Dreier and his firm, and two entities that had obtained proceeds and suffered losses from investing in Dreier’s fictitious notes: hedge funds GSO Capital Partners and its affiliates, and Fortress Investment Group LLC and its affiliates.  See “Affiliates of Hedge Fund Manager Fortress Investment Group Sue Dechert Over Opinion Letter Endorsing Marc Dreier,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 2, No. 52 (Dec. 30, 2009).  We discuss the background of the various related actions – including the dispute over the disposition of Dreier’s art collection – and the court’s legal analysis.