The New York State Supreme Court has approved the first payment to investors in the Ariel Fund Limited, which was formerly managed by J. Ezra Merkin and has been tied to Bernard Madoff’s investment vehicle.

The cash distribution, which totals $167 million, was paid by the end of 2010 to investors who lost money in the fund.

The Merkin fund was alleged to have secretly invested more than one-fourth of its assets with Madoff’s investment-securities operation. Madoff pleaded guilty to running a huge Ponzi scheme in March 2009. He is serving a 150-year sentence in a North Carolina federal prison.