SEC's Shapiro comes under fire for general counsel's Madoff conflict

Mary Schapiro, chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is coming under fire from Congress for hiring a general counsel who profited off an investment with notorious financial criminal Bernard Madoff and played a role in determining how Madoff's victims would be compensated.

Along with his brothers, the general counsel, David Becker, received $2 million from a Madoff investment made by their late mother, the New York Times reports. The conflict was brought to light when Becker and his siblings were sued by the trustee handling the Madoff case for part of the money.

In his role at the SEC, Becker argued for a policy that would have benefited him by allowing people to keep some earnings from Madoff investments above what they initially put into the accounts, according to the Times. The agency recommendation called for investors to keep only their original investment.