NEW YORK, March 17, 2009
Government Pursues Ruth Madoff's Assets
Homes, Yachts, Jewelry All In Name Of Swindler's Wife Targeted By Prosecutors
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This $11 million Palm Beach, Fla., home was purchased in 1994 in Ruth Madoff's name. (CBS)
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Photo Essay Bernard Madoff Disgraced financier charged with perpetrating massive fraud.
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Photo Essay Madoff's Victims A look at some of Bernard Madoff's famous clients.
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- Lawyer: Madoff Has $1 Billion In Assets
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The government even included a $39,000 Steinway piano and $65,000 in silverware, both owned by Ruth Madoff, in items it said it will try to force the Madoffs to forfeit. The list was in a three-page document filed in U.S. District Court late Sunday.
Brenda Sharton, a lawyer with a Boston firm representing several burned investors, said the government's aggressive approach with Ruth Madoff isn't surprising.
"I don't think it's unusual ... given the magnitude of the fraud," she said. "It would be unusual if they didn't go after whatever assets they can get."
Bernard Madoff, 70, has been living in a small cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan since he pleaded guilty Thursday to securities fraud, perjury and nine other charges. He could be sent to prison for up to 150 years at a June sentencing.
If prosecutors get their way, the Madoffs will have to give up all their assets, including three properties listed solely in Ruth Madoff's name: a $7 million Manhattan penthouse bought in 1984, an $11 million Palm Beach, Fla., home purchased in 1994 and a $1 million home in Cap d' Antibe, France. Another $3 million home bought in 1979 in Montauk is jointly owned by the couple.
The government also said Madoff and his wife should forfeit:
Not mentioned in the document was $2.6 million in jewelry, although the government did say it would seek "all insured and readily salable personal property" in any of the Madoff properties.
Ruth Madoff has not been charged in the massive swindle. But Karl Buch, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice, said the government filing shows prosecutors believe she knew about the scam.
"If the government had strong evidence she was an innocent third party, they wouldn't bring a forfeiture," he said.
CBS News contributor Lucinda Franks, also a contributor to The Daily Beast, said that getting a hold of Madoff assets held overseas poses many problems.
"They have to go to trial," Franks said on CBS' The Early Show. "They cannot seize the French houses because how could you come into France with a U.S. Court order? They're not going to honor it."
She said authorities are tracking where Madoff has transferred funds: "They know that it has been laundered from bank to bank in Switzerland, England, Ireland, Chile and Gibraltar, and maybe Italy and Austria."
But even with knowing that money has been stashed in Gibraltar, Franks said, it is very difficult to get at because the funds have been frozen. "The trustee that's responsible for disbursing the money to victims are trying to keep it frozen until they can get it."
The assets were first listed in a document made public Friday that listed the couple's combined assets at between $823 million and $826 million, most of it the estimated $700 million value of what is left of Madoff's businesses.
Defense lawyers haven't formally sought to retain any assets, but indicated previously that they might try to keep the Manhattan penthouse and $62 million in cash and securities for Ruth Madoff because those assets were not part of the fraud and were listed in her name.
The lawyers have noted that Madoff and his wife agreed to a freeze of their assets as the government and others recover as much as possible for investors.
Attorneys for Madoff, Ruth Madoff and a federal prosecutor's spokeswoman all declined comment.
So far, about $1 billion in assets have been identified for investors, just a small portion of the $65 billion Madoff told his 4,800 investors that he had on hand in November. Authorities say they believe the figure included what would have existed if much smaller original investments had grown for decades.
On Monday, attorneys for the trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's company's assets filed U.S. Bankruptcy Court papers saying the trustee plans to hire a lawyer in Gibraltar to recover assets there.
"Issues have arisen overseas, and in Gibraltar in particular, that require the trustee's participation and representation by counsel," the filing said. "The trustee has become aware of assets that he believes to be customer property located within that country."
At his plea, Madoff said he began what he thought would be a short-lived Ponzi scheme in the early 1990s in response to a recession. He said he never recovered and continued making payouts to early investors with money from new investors.
Prosecutors say the fraud began in the 1980s, which would make it harder for Ruth Madoff to argue that she bought the Manhattan penthouse before the fraud began.
In September, Ruth Madoff filed for a homestead exemption to protect her Palm Beach, Fla., home as her primary residence. It was granted in January, according to Palm Beach County property records.
Florida has some of the most protective laws in the country for debtors seeking to dodge creditors. "Florida is what we call a debtor haven," said Miami bankruptcy attorney Timothy Kingcade.
But the money to buy the home cannot have resulted from fraud, Kingcade said, noting: "You can't go rob a bank and buy a home and be protected."
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More From The Early Show
Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
sunshine of Florida or at her Manhattan Penthouse!
After all she did earned the 100 million dollars being the worlds most expensive book keeper!
Oh by the way, I'm looking for really smart investors and I'll pay you 10% on your money
backed by my personal accountants statements and you can trust me because I'm
a nice guy!!
What's that you want me to take all your liquid capital of 10 million and you have some friends with the same! Oh I don't know my program is for only really special friends of mine!!
Give me a couple of weeks to see if I can find a place to put your hard
earned money!!!!!!
OK I invest(take) your money in my special program!
Oh its safe the SEC audits me and my special program and company all the time!
Of course you can rest assured that your moneys safe!
Sincerely
Jack the Ripper
P.S. The first great rule of investing isn't the rate of return one one's money!
it's the likely hood of the return of one's(principles) money!
Shame on all of them!! Stupid is what stupid does!!
You do no service to true victims when you lump Ruth Madoff in with them. Get off your soap box and let the investigators determine how much should be given back to the victims of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme.
And. Mrs. Madoff had inherited money of her own. Is that a crime too ?
[Posted by hamiltongrad at 9:30 AM : Mar 17, 2009 ]
how pathetic. woman have no rights in this society? you should give yourself a break ... and stop making yourself look like such a fool.
you're delusional. go visit the middle east ... or africa ... or india ... and then tell us all about how tragic woman's lives are here in the us.
How many women are forced into situations by their dominating, power hungry "husbands" ? 100% of all women behind bars have been shown to be placed in a position of "blame" due to male domination and force into so called criminal acts, that society choses to ignore the real foundational causes. This is no different. She has been made to suffer throughout this whole ordeal, and is very much a victim as anyone. Where was social/governmental/ educational resources when she was calling for help ? - not just her , but all women under the threat of force .
In a society where women have no rights , this focus on Mrs. Madoff, is another tragic indecent thrashing of all of us who believe that punishment serves no purpose.
No. She is just as much a victim as the rest of the people, and for all the bluster, the FCC who monitored all of this, should pay for all the losses. What good would it do to make her suffer. As a woman, in today's male dominated society, she was not driving the bus, her "husband" was. So , let her alone to live her life as she has. And, she is a big supporter of the ARTS, doesn't that mean anything to all the "men" who want to punish her, again and again. ]
[Posted by hamiltongrad at 8:12 AM : Mar 17, 2009 ]
how do 'you' know that she wasn't involved? she allegedly did the books for her husband's businesses. if this is true ... and she did them for the hedge fund business ... she's knee deep in it all ... and she should first be broken financially ... then sent to prison for the rest of her days on earth. her being a woman doesn't isolate her from anything ... or give her rights to keep what are likely ill gotten gains. this will be the price she will pay even if she wasn't directly involved ... but living a life with a criminal of historic proportions ... and not having a clue.
[People have lost a lot, but punishment is not the answer. Blaming is not the answer. Hope and understanding is.]
yea right ... whatever you say!
a very long and severe penalty that everyone who may also either be doing what he/she did ... or might be thinking about doing it can relate to is the answer. anyone scamming for money on this level should be relegated to poverty ... and sent to jail for enough time to make them think about what's important, and what's not ... the polar opposite of what their goals were.
As a Professor of Women's Studies , I am outraged. Why are they targeting this woman ? She deserves her life, just as we all do . She did nothing wrong, and certainly, I have not heard otherwise, was she personally writing bad checks , or conning the very rich with dreams of wealth ??
No. She is just as much a victim as the rest of the people, and for all the bluster, the FCC who monitored all of this, should pay for all the losses. What good would it do to make her suffer. As a woman, in today's male dominated society, she was not driving the bus, her "husband" was. So , let her alone to live her life as she has. And, she is a big supporter of the ARTS, doesn't that mean anything to all the "men" who want to punish her, again and again.
People have lost a lot, but punishment is not the answer. Blaming is not the answer. Hope and understanding is.
Confiscate all assets, cut off his hands and let him go, he doesnt deserve the free food he's going to get in prison.
[Posted by obiden08 at 6:42 AM : Mar 17, 2009 ]
although it's likely that she knew what he was doing ... or not doing (investing the money) ... it's possible that the sons did not know he was doing this. the father had the hedge fund business (the scam) completely seperate from the trading business the sons were running. they were apparently on different floors of the same building .... had independent staff ... and access to the funds business offices was restricted for non-authorized personel.
rumor has it that the wife did the books for the business ... although it's not clear which one ... and they've known each other since high school ... so it's likely that she had some knowledge of what he was up to.
it won't be a surprise if the whole family was in on it ... but it's possible that the father knew what this day would bring ... and that he deliberately kept the kids in the dark to protect them from what would come when he got caught.
either way ... who's going to give any money to someone with the last name madoff for the next fourty years?
This creep;s wife and family did not know of his deceit.
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Not bad for this harpie with no known employment! I say, put this jackass in jail next to her husband!
Gee, sounds a LOT like FORMER candidate McShame who couldn't remember how many houses he and the little lady owned LOL
IT will never happen because there are probably still billions/ millions out in secret accounts that the Govt. will never find... But thats what should happen.
It is ok for rich people to steal.
- by jtdev1 March 17, 2009 8:22 AM EDT
- Wow, The Government will go after Ruth Maddoff, but they DO NOTHING against Ken Lay's wife...
- Reply to this comment
See all 20 CommentsWhat a joke.