Feds Seek $100M From Madoff’s Wife, Including $7M Yacht

The wife of Bernard Madoff has reportedly sought to protect some $70 to $100 million in claimed personal assets from seizure.

But as the feds pursue civil and criminal penalties against her husband, who is now convicted in a Ponzi scheme case that could involve as much as $65 billion in losses, they apparently don't intend to cut Ruth Madoff any breaks. In a federal district court filing in Manhattan yesterday, the government is seeking forfeiture of some $100 million in assets, reports Bloomberg.

That amount includes the value of the couple's $7 million home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, $17 million in cash and $45 million in bonds in accounts in Ruth Madoff’s name, and a $7 million yacht, among other assets, according to Bloomberg and the Associated Press.

If the government succeeds with the forfeiture effort, Ruth Madoff will be left with almost nothing. Her 70-year-old husband hasn't been sentenced yet, but is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.

''I don't think it's unusual ... given the magnitude of the fraud,'' attorney Brenda Sharton of Boston, who represents several claimed Madoff fraud victims, tells the news agency. ''It would be unusual if they didn't go after whatever assets they can get.''

Lawyers for Ruth Madoff, who hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing, decline to comment.

Earlier coverage:

ABAJournal.com: "Jailed Madoff Seeks Bail; He and Wife Held $823M in Assets in 2008"