Competing orders from two federal judges on recovering Bernard Madoff’s assets for victims could lead to costly court battles over who’s in charge, the convicted money manager’s lawyer says.

US District Judge Denny Chin, presiding over Madoff’s criminal case, yesterday blocked him and his wife Ruth from disposing of assets including homes, investments, boats and business ventures. Separately, US Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland put Madoff’s assets under the control of a court-appointed trustee in an attempt to coordinate their collection and distribution to victims of his $65 billion Ponzi scheme.

Lifland said at a hearing that efforts to corral Madoff’s assets for the benefit of victims have been “disjointed.” The appointment of an interim trustee to control Madoff’s money and make sure it is preserved was requested by a group of the convicted money manager’s clients who are seeking to force Madoff into personal bankruptcy.

“We are concerned that the appointment of such a trustee will result in a contentious, costly and time-consuming litigation in different courts involving identical assets,” Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Sorkin, said in a letter addressed to Chin and Lifland and filed in court.

Assistant US Attorney Barbara Ward said in a legal brief that Madoff’s property should be frozen by the criminal judge so it isn’t in the bankruptcy estate. Chin’s order followed the US Attorney’s filing