France Will Battle US for Madoff Chateau

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff struck a deal with federal prosecutors today to forfeit nearly $80 million in assets and retain only $2.5 million in cash, the Wall Street Journal reports. The wife of swindler Bernard Madoff reached the agreement with the US attorney's office in Manhattan. Meanwhile, a US judge entered an order of forfeiture against the Ponzi schemer for more than $170 billion. More»

List reveals couple's homes, cash, luxury goods mostly in Ruth's name

(NEWSER) - A list of the Madoffs' assets released yesterday falls a long way short of the tens of billions investors and prosecutors are looking for, the Wall Street Journal reports. A $700 million valuation for Bernard Madoff's investment business made up the bulk of the roughly $826 million in assets listed, with the rest, including several houses, mostly in his wife Ruth Madoff's name. More»

Lawyers argue wife's assets have nothing to do with scam

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff is battling in court to hang onto $70 million in assets she claims have nothing to do with her husband's alleged $50 billion scam. Lawyers for the Madoffs are seeking to protect the assets—including $17 million in cash, $45 million in bonds, and the $7 million Manhattan apartment where Bernard Madoff is under house arrest—from seizure by prosecutors, Bloomberg reports. More»

She says she and Bernie tried to kill themselves after story broke

(NEWSER) - Ruth Madoff makes a jarring admission to 60 Minutes, saying she and husband Bernie attempted suicide with pills after his Ponzi scheme unraveled, reports CBS News . "I don't know whose idea it was, but we decided to kill ourselves because it was so horrendous what was happening," she tells Morley Safer. "We had terrible phone calls. Hate mail, just beyond anything and I said, '...I just can't go on anymore.'" More»

Victims of white-collar criminals deprived of millions

(NEWSER) - The head of a US Marshals Service unit sold off millions in assets forfeited from white-collar criminals—including some seized from Bernie Madoff’s family—at a deep discount to his “business contacts,” swindling crime victims out of a pile of money, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit from a former federal agent and public accountant. According to the lawsuit, which was spotted by the New York Times , Leonard Briskman sold items without public notice, didn't seek multiple buyers, assessed the value of certain items himself, and maintained a secret bank account. More»