Bernard Madoff's Wife Ruth to Give Up Fortune

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ruth Madoff reached a settlement with federal prosecutors on Friday by agreeing to forfeit almost $80 million in assets prosecutors believe were amassed as a result of her convicted husband Bernard Madoff's multi-billion dollar fraud scheme.

The settlement of Ruth Madoff's potential claims against the property was approved late Friday by United States District Judge Denny Chin alongside an order of forfeiture against Bernard Madoff in the amount of $170 billion, which represents the amount of money that prosecutors say flowed into his investment firm.

According to court documents released Friday, Ruth Madoff agreed to the sale of her properties in Palm Beach, Fla., Montauk and Manhattan, as well as boats and vehicles, in order to preserve value for victims. As part of the settlement, Ruth Madoff will get to keep $2.5 million in cash.

Earlier this year, Bernard Madoff asked prosecutors to allow Ruth Madoff to keep $70 million in assets he claims were not acquired through his fraudulent activities. In particular, the $7 million penthouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side, $45 million in municipal bonds held by Ruth Madoff at Cohmad Securities Corp., a brokerage firm partially owned by Bernard Madoff, $17 million she held at Wachovia Bank.

Ruth Madoff's lawyer, Peter Chavkin, maintains his client "unequivocally did not know of the misconduct and did not participate in it."

FYI: Bernard Madoff is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday. Prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 150 years in prison.

Written by Gabriel Dorman
gabedorman@gmail.com
www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/blog/