(Reuters) - An investor who lost nearly $2 million investing with Bernard Madoff has filed a claim against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging the agency was negligent in failing to detect an alleged decades-long fraud, the Wall Street Journal said.
Phyllis Molchatsky, a 61-year-old retiree from Valley Cottage, New York, is seeking $1.7 million in damages from the agency, the paper said.
The claim is believed to be the first attempt by an INVESTOR (INVEB.ES)to recover lost money from regulators, according to the paper.
The SEC's "statutory purpose is to protect the public interest," Howard Elisofon, the lawyer representing Molchatsky, told the paper.
"We feel they fell down on the job in this instance," Elisofon, who is also a former SEC enforcement attorney, told the paper.
The SEC could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.
(Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore)
