A New York appeals judge has refused to lift a temporary court order barring Bernard Madoff’s brother from disposing of his assets.

The Brooklyn judge said Tuesday that he wouldn’t overturn an order that a judge in suburban Nassau County imposed on Peter Madoff last week in a civil lawsuit.

The suit accuses Peter Madoff of losing a Long Island student’s $478,000 trust fund by investing it in his brother’s Ponzi scheme.

The court order is of little immediate importance to the legal dispute, since Madoff’s assets were also separately frozen by the Justice Department in December.

(Source: 1010WINS)