Results tagged “ruthmadoff”

       

Today, Gaston & Sheehan Auctioneers are helping the U.S. Marshals sell of items belonging to Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff and his wife Ruth. You can see the various lots here—there's couple's jewelry, clothing knickknacks, and whatever else the Marshals found in their three homes. In other words, it's slightly more high-end than the average yard sale.

                  

Last week, the U.S. Marshals Service put Ponzi king Bernard Madoff's Montauk beach house on the market for $8.75 million—and now his Upper East Side penthouse duplex is officially for sale too. The apartment was seized in July and the Post reports it's on sale "for $7.5 million or more" with "its contents — expensive and otherwise — [to] be separately auctioned off."

Ruth Madoff may have signed a deal with the feds, giving up her homes and assets in exchange for $2.5 million, but does that mean she can keep a property tax rebate check for one of those homes? According to the Palm Beach Post, since the Madoffs' Palm Beach mansion was overvalued, the couple was issued a $13,800 rebate: "Ruth Madoff recently sent the uncashed refund check back to Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon, with a letter dated Aug. 23 asking that it be reissued in her name alone." A Florida tax law expert, Richard Rampelli, surmised, "She wants to have unfettered access to the money, clearly." Hey, Metrocards are expensive! Her attorney claims that the money will go "where it is supposed to go" and points out she is "obliged to assist the government in recovering any covered assets," but Rampelli thinks she could have just given the check to the government to deal with. At any rate, the check will not be reissued in Ruth's name alone—Palm Beach County Tax Collector "said the law requires her to write rebate checks to whoever paid the original bill - and in this case, both Madoffs' names were on the original check."

It's the battle of the books about Bernard Madoff! Sure, there are a lot of them—last week, the NY Times' Michiko Kakutani reviewed two of 'em, one by an investigative reporter and the other by a journalist—but neither probably delve into details about the Ponzi schemer's, uh, equipment. The Daily News has excerpts of Sheryl Weinstein's Madoff tell-all—Weinstein says she had an affair with him—including "When we made love, I was on fire" and "This man was not well-endowed."

Now that Sheryl Weinstein, former CFO of Jewish organization Hadassah, has gone and written a book about her supposed affair with Ponzi schemer/current jailbird Bernard Madoff, the NY Times asked Ruth Madoff's lawyer for comment. Peter Chavkin obliged and said his client, who has been married to Madoff for decades, knew nothing of the "alleged affair," and noted "[the allegation] stands as a powerful reminder, to those who say Ruth must have known of her husband’s criminal scheme, that there are some things that some spouses — however close they are — do not share with each other." The Times also wonders about the ethics issues, given Weinstein's role as CFO for Hadassah—investing its money with Madoff—her supposed relationship with him and her decision to invest all her family's money with Madoff. Weinstein said at a court hearing earlier this year, "Four years ago we refinanced our mortgage and gave the excess cash to Bernie Madoff"—so they are now homeless—and emphasized she was testifying because she "felt it was important for somebody who was personally acquainted with Madoff to speak. My family and I are not anonymous people to him. He knows my husband’s name is Rob and my son’s name is Eric."

Some more Ruth Madoff news, courtesy the Post: The Ponzi schemer's wife "owes an eye-popping $600,000 in tax penalties and interest... Under a spending agreement filed in Manhattan Bankruptcy Court, the wife of jailed Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff will be able to spend money only on settling that bill, legal fees and a 'reasonable' amount on living expenses." So we suppose that is coming from the $2.5 million she was allowed to keep. The Post says this "stems" from a deal she made after being sued for almost $45 million, "Ruth has to provide trustee Irving Picard with a 'complete monthly accounting' listing 'any and all income or other assets received,' along with all of her purchases over $100"—like flying to NC to see Bernie in prison—"and her current bank balance." In lesser Ruth news, there's a "Save Ruth" Cafe Press store.

Here's another update about Bernard Madoff's condition in federal prison, courtesy of the lawyers representing the investment faker's victims. Only this update paints a less rosy picture; while attorney Joseph Cotchett told ABC News, "[Madoff] looked pretty good and seems to be working out. He looked a lot better than he has in some months since I've seen photographs of him," today Cotchett told the CBS Early Show, "Look, it's a prison. He's suffering the immediate throes of being thrust into this. It's a new world to him. It's not pleasant, as it shouldn't be. The man is distraught." That sounds about right, but Madoff has time to adjust.

A lawyer for the $65 billion-dollar Ponzi scheme man says that there will be no appeal for 150-year sentence handed down to Bernard Madoff last week. Ira Lee Sorkin said, "The decision has been made, and that's it." Next up for Madoff is finding out where he'll spend the rest of his life—he requested to be sent to the Otisville federal prison. CNN Money notes that it's "70 miles northwest of New York City, where he used to reside in a $7 million apartment, ...and one of the closest medium-security prisons to New York City, where Madoff has family." Also, there's a "prison camp, textile factory, a full-time rabbi," and, according to a prison consultant, "one of the largest and most active religious programs for Jewish inmates in the Bureau of Prisons."

Now that Ruth Madoff has settled with the feds—giving up her various homes and assets in exchange for $2.5 million—the feds have returned her passport to her. Unfortunately, that chateau of hers was seized in March! Madoff had to give up her passport when she put up the bail for her Ponzi-scheming husband Bernard, who is now serving a 150-year sentence. The debate rages on whether Ruth knew about Bernie's dealings; in NY Magazine's "Poor Ruth" feature this week, some point to how she worshipped her husband—"She would tell me all the time, ‘Don’t you think he’s fabulous, don’t you think he’s great?’"—perhaps to the point of being blind while others say, "He conferred with her on everything. The idea that she didn’t know anything is laughable."

A couple more details from the U.S. Marshals' seizure of Bernard and Ruth Madoff's $7 million East 64th Street penthouse. According to the AP, "Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's wife asked to stay in her $7 million Manhattan penthouse and wanted to take a fur coat with her before federal marshals seized the property. A federal official informed of Ruth Madoff's departure from her apartment Thursday tells The Associated Press that when marshals said she couldn't take her coat, she left carrying just a straw bag." However, her lawyer tells the Post, "This cheap effort to smear Ruth Madoff is meritless. And it was she who forfeited the furs last Friday as the publicly filed stipulation states." And the marshals do say she left voluntarily with all the apartment's contents there, including "$18,000 worth of bedding and $382,000 in rugs and curtains."

Guess Ruth Madoff is on the streets—the U.S. Marshals have seized her and her husband's East 64th Street penthouse apartment. The AP reports, "U.S. Marshal Joseph Guccione said Thursday that the marshals were at the property pursuant to a court order." Newsday explains that Ruth Madoff gets $2.5 million as soon as she vacates the Upper East Side duplex, which is worth $7 million, so maybe that's why the seizure happened so soon after her agreement giving up her three homes last week. However, it's been tough for her to find an apartment—apparently landlords aren't interested in having such a notorious tenant. Update: The U.S. Marshals say that they arrived at noon and that Ruth Madoff left all personal property, "We have possession of their furniture and everything in it." Her lawyer said, "Ruth moved out voluntarily pursuant to prior agreements we had reached with the government," but did not offer Madoff's forwarding address.

Ruth Madoff, the "betrayed and confused" wife of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, may be in the clear—at least according to the Post's sources, "Federal prosecutors decided not to criminally charge Ruth because they lack evidence that she was either aware of or involved in Bernard Madoff's scam -- which swindled thousands of people and charities out of billions of dollars, said two sources familiar with the case." Of course, should they find anything, the feds could go after her, but a source says, "In the deal, she lost everything. She's lost everything she holds dear. She's lost her husband. She has no friends...She's a beaten woman. There's nothing left on the carcass to take." The carcass even has to take the subway! The press is still camped outside the Upper East Side penthouse she will have to give up—the Daily News says, "She jumped out of a cab in the middle of a rainstorm at 6:45 p.m. and sprinted into the lobby, nearly slipping in her haste."

After her husband was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Ruth Madoff issued a statement. It begins, "I am breaking my silence now, because my reluctance to speak has been interpreted as indifference or lack of sympathy for the victims of my husband Bernie’s crime, which is exactly the opposite of the truth... I am embarrassed and ashamed. Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused." Her full statement is after the jump; earlier, Bernard Madoff told the court that she cries herself to sleep every night.

Now it's clear why Ruth Madoff was riding the subway earlier this week: The Ponzi schemer's wife has come to an agreement with federal prosecutors, leaving her with $2.5 million as she must sell her and her husband's $7 million Upper East Side penthouse, $11 million Palm Beach house, and $3 million Montauk house and many other assets such as yachts. The homes and other assets will be sold, with proceeds going to victims of Bernard Madoff's $65 billion fraud.

As Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff anxiously awaits his Monday sentencing, his wife Ruth has really been making an effort to counter the impression that she's still living large off her husband's victims. Just look at her here, riding one of those underground locomotives, wearing her working class dungarees, and contemplating a sweet 99-cent cellphone offer! But just don't expect her to be happy about her humiliating new commute in steerage—when the Post photographer tried to help publicize her modest lifestyle, she asked, "Are you having fun embarrassing me—and ruining my life?" You see, if only the tabloids had just minded their own business, she never would have lost her Florida mansion, the chateau on the French Riviera, and the yachts. But the Post's article is just, uh, ruthless in its demagoguery, even gleefully pointing out that besides her déclassé "oversized jacket and unfashionable flats," Ruth "was also having another bad-hair day. Since her upscale hairstylist, Pierre Michel, banned her from his salon, it's been streaked with gray instead of highlights." Ouch. Ruth, who's also been spotted buying the Post at newsstands, might want the Daily News today instead. (Or not!)

Ruth Madoff, wife of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, gets a NY Time Styles section once-over. Banned from her hair salon and by her Hamptons florist, she may be the "most vilified spouse of a financial rogue in history... Although no evidence has emerged to date that she conspired or even knew about her husband’s crimes...She has been pilloried and turned into a pariah." U. Chicago cultural anthropologist Prof. Richard Shweder says, "She’s perceived as the succubus to Bernie’s incubus." Maybe because she withdrew $15 million before her husband's arrest? Then there are the rumors she knew about the scheme...since apparently no secrets were kept between her and Bernie. Still, Ivan Boesky's ex-wife Seema says, "My immediate reaction was utter sympathy for this woman. I wanted to write her a letter, reach out to her, take her out to lunch. But my lawyer said, 'No.'" Ruth Madoff's own lawyer declined to comment and said no comment would be coming from the 68-year-old Queens native, who visits her husband in the clink every few weeks. But Bernie's lawyer said Ruth is sympathetic to her husband's victims, adding, "There is no question there’s an image problem."

A new Vanity Fair article says that disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's sons haven't spoken to their father or mother since Madoff confessed to running a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme last December. When Andrew and Mark Madoff were told, VF writer David Margolick says, "Mark was angry and Andrew was on the [kitchen] floor, sobbing." Opinion is divided on whether the sons knew of the scheme; one former employee said, "They wouldn’t have been able to do what Bernie did: they just didn’t have the evilness in them," but admits other associates might feel differently. Margolick adds, "Mark is said to be obsessed with the scandal, huddled over his computer, hyper-scrutinizing every story and blog posting, and, when it suits him, answering e-mail instantaneously, but that Andrew has completely shut down." However, a friend now says Andrew is focused on making sure his daughters feel loved—"just because their grandfather turns out to be one of the worst criminals ever doesn’t mean they’re bad people." As for not contacting Ruth Madoff, the sons allegedly don't think she was involved, but know she'd take Bernie's side.

ABC News caught up Ruth Madoff, wife of multi-billion Ponzi-scheming investment guru Bernard Madoff, while she leaving the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where her husband is being held. When asked "if she had anything to say to the victims of her husband's scam or whether she played a role in it," she simply said, "I have no response to you." Apparently Ruth Madoff has been telling people that she's lonely and feels shunned ever since the scandal erupted, but a lawyer representing victims of the scam said, "Why would you have sympathy for his wife in any of these circumstances? She was one of the largest beneficiaries of the fraud. She enjoyed a very rich lifestyle that practically everyone would love to emulate and it was paid for by someone else." ABC News also likes to mention how Madoff was very generous with his employees—"Madoff sent $2.2 million so that one staffer, now under criminal investigation, could buy a New Jersey beach house. Frank DiPascali, Madoff's right hand man, was paid nearly $3 million a year. DiPascali's boat captain was also on the Madoff payroll."

While disgraced financier Bernard Madoff's chief financial officer allegedly may be talking to the feds, one former employee of the swindler is definitely talking: His former secretary, Eleanor Squillari. She has co-authored a 9,000-word article in Vanity Fair and now the magazine spills some of the details, like how he "had a roving eye" and acted like he was in a coma—"He began taking his blood-pressure every 15 minutes, refused to look at his mail"—right before his arrest.

The Bernard Madoff scandal has so shaken up his niece, who worked as a compliance office for the "investing" firm, that she has—according to Post sources—"contacted a consultant who teaches white-collar criminals how to survive in federal prison and secure early release." Shana Madoff, 38, once featured in New York magazine as a clotheshorse, may be the female Madoff relative who is taking Larry Levine's "Fedtime 101 crash course." Levine, who served time for counterfeiting securities, tells the Post, "I give people a wakeup call," and his website says he offers tips on things like "Dealing With Gang Members," "Defusing A Confrontation," and "Prison Slang & Lingo." Meanwhile, wife-of-Bernie Ruth (pictured) was banned from the Pierre Michel hair salon because other customers are victims of the wide-reaching, multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme, so a rep explained, "Therefore Pierre Michel didn't feel comfortable having her in the salon."

With two tall bodyguards, Ruth Madoff visited her disgraced financier husband Bernard at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. This was her first visit there since he pleaded guilty on March 12.

As disgraced financier Bernard Madoff sits in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, awaiting his sentencing, investigations are continuing on his relatives, notably his wife Ruth Madoff, who allegedly helped him keep the books for his multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Now, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office says that Ruth Maddof withdrew $2 million from a British account in the weeks before her husband's confession and subsequent arrest in December.

If she's not being chased out of Food Emporium, Ruth Madoff has to deal with French officials trying to seize her chateau in Cap d'Antibes (cue sad trombone)! An attorney for Irving Picard, the trustee that is locating assets of disgraced financier Bernard Madoff, revealed the detail about the French chateau; Picard's attorney David Sheehan warned in court yesterday, "Next week the French are going to grab the chateau."

The federal judge who sent Bernie Madoff away released 173 pages of letters and emails that victims of the Ponzi scheme had sent in before he pleaded guilty. Their names and addresses were blocked out, only the cities from which they wrote remained for most. Investors lashed out both at Madoff and his wife Ruth in their letters. Some quotes highlighted in today's local papers include:

Bernard Madoff's victims won't have to riot in the streets: An appeals court ruled that the financier-turned-Ponzi scheme operator must stay behind in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. In spite of pleas from Madoff's lawyer, the judges ruled, “In light of the defendant’s age (70) and the length of a potential sentence (150 years), he has an incentive to flee, and that because he has the means to do so, he presents a risk of flight , and therefore should not be released." Plus, Madoff totally admitted to what he did! Uptown, Madoff's wife Ruth—who is being investigated by the feds for her involvement—attempted to shop at Food Emporium, only to be discouraged by the paparazzi. A building super who had been accompanying Madoff told the gaggle of media, "I'm just a bystander who says tonight you guys did good." As for using Freshdirect, it's unclear if Internet access was restored to Madoff's apartment; it was taken away while he was under house arrest.

Finally: The Daily News reports that prosecutors are looking to seize assets related to Bernard Madoff's sons. Apparently the jailed financier loaned his sons multimillion amounts: "Andrew Madoff [pictured], 42, could be on the hook for $9.5 million - half of that loaned just months before his father's arrest. Mark Madoff, 44, is listed as owing $22 million." Both sons were senior executives at their father's "investment firm," which ended up just taking billions from clients and not investing the money anywhere; the sons were also the ones who turned Madoff into the feds when their father confessed he was just running a Ponzi scheme. The feds also want $2.6 million worth of Madoff's wife's jewelry plus 35 sets of watches and cufflinks that belong to Madoff. As for Ruth Madoff, she declared her $9.4 million Palm Beach residence her primary home, perhaps a way to shield it from creditors.

U.S. prosecutors have filed a "notice of intent to seek forfeiture of certain assets" of Bernard and Ruth Madoff. Bernard Madoff, the investment guru who turned out to be a huge fraud and pleaded guilty to criminal charges last week, has been in jail awaiting sentencing, but his wife Ruth Madoff has been living in their $7 million Upper East Side penthouse (held in her name). Ruth Madoff also reportedly has $62 million in other assets, including other real estate. Naturally the Post calls this "a kick in the assets."

With her multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheming-husband behind bars, Ruth Madoff is now the focus of the federal investigators. An SEC source tells the NY Post, "The US attorneys will be in court in the next week or so to tell a judge that they believe Mrs. Madoff's assets are derived from ill-gotten gains and that they should be frozen for a certain period of time while the investigation is ongoing... You just need to be able to convince the judge that there is a strong probability that the funds in question came from crime." Bernard Madoff is worth around $823 million, and that $92 million, such as multi-million dollar real estate, is in his wife's name (the "financier" had asked that Ruth keep "her" assets). Ruth Madoff reportedly agreed to freeze her assets earlier but that verbal agreement was non-binding.

Fraudulent investor Bernard Madoff thinks that even though he lost his clients' money in a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, his wife should keep some spoils! Well, Madoff's lawyers claim that the money, which includes bonds, cash and the couple's $7 million apartment on East 64th Street, is "unrelated to the alleged Madoff fraud" and simply belong to Ruth Madoff.

The Massachusetts Secretary of State moved to revoke the license of a brokerage accused of raising money for Ponzi scheme maestro Bernard Madoff. Secretary William Galvin says firm Cohmad has not cooperated with an investigation—and the Boston Globe reports the complaint also alleges NYC social scene fixture "Ruth Madoff, Madoff's wife, maintained a brokerage account at Cohmad and withdrew $10 million on Dec. 10, the day before Madoff was arrested" (not to mention withdrawing $5.5 million in November). So that's how she's paying for his house arrest security! Galvin alleges that Cohmad and Madoff's firm were "deeply entwined"; read his complaint here (PDF). Today, Madoff prosecutors are supposed to seek an indictment or ask for a delay but Agence-France Press notes, "Prosecutors and the alleged fraudster's defense team already agreed in mid-January to a 30-day extension. Observers believe the same thing will happen Wednesday."