Trustee Irving Picard and Baker & Hostetler last month asked a US bankruptcy judge in Manhattan to approve fees for work done from February through May, bringing their total fee requests in the case to $96.7 million, Bloomberg reports.

Former Madoff investors argue in court papers that Picard and his law firm shouldn’t receive any payment for the work. They claim they are improperly trying to minimize payouts by the Securities Investor Protection Corp at the expense of Madoff’s victims, according to the news service.

“They have a conflict of interest as a result of which they are barred from receiving any compensation under established precedents and principles of professional conduct,” attorney Helen Davis Chaitman wrote.

Picard's counsel, David Sheehan, said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal that he was "confident that our fees are fair and reasonable." He said that since the legal fees are paid by SIPC, "not one cent" of victims' money would go to the lawyers.

Picard could not be immediately reached as this story went to press.  

Picard and Baker & Hostetler are claiming a total of $288,189 a day including weekends and holidays, Chaitman, whose clients have objected to three previous fee requests, said in court papers.

This is the latest in continuous legal sparring between Picard and the investors. Last month a group of more than 100 investors who had money invested with Madoff’s firm filed an appeal with the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a March decision by a US bankruptcy judge who had ruled they were not entitled to a recovery. The investors, called net-winners, maintain they are entitled to recover funds despite withdrawing more than they invested.