Ruth Madoff Sued

July 29. 2009

Bernard and Ruth Madoff

Ruth Madoff, the wife of incarcerated ponzi schemer, Bernard Madoff, has been sued by a trustee, seeking $45 million dollars in damages, for defrauded investors.

Ruth Madoff, was allowed to keep $2.5 million as apart of a plea deal her husband struck with the federal government, in exchange for a confession.

However, that money is set to be wiped out via legal fees and judgments, from lawsuit after lawsuit, filed by fleeced investors. I think it is just desserts, as the Madoffs unlawfully lived lavishly off the proceeds of financial crimes. Investors should also sue Madoff's sons and their wives and ex-wives, who pocketed millions in fraud money.

Ruth Madoff sued for $45 million

Last Updated: July 29, 2009: 3:13 PM ET - Court-appointed trustee claims Ruth Madoff has $44.8 million and wants her to turn it over for victims. Her lawyer says suit is 'perplexing.'

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ruth Madoff, wife of imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, was sued Wednesday by a court-appointed trustee seeking $45 million in funds to compensate victims.

Last month, federal authorities seized the Madoffs' assets but left Ruth Madoff with $2.5 million -- an amount they could not tie to her husband's massive and long-running Ponzi scheme.

But Irving Pickard, the trustee appointed by U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, said that Ruth received $44.8 million in "fraudulent" transfers during the six years leading up to the bankruptcy of her husband's investment firm.

"While Madoff's crimes have left many investors impoverished and some charities decimated, Mrs. Madoff remains a person of substantial means," Pickard wrote in the suit. "The inequity between Mrs. Madoff's continuing financial advantages and the economic distress of Madoff's customers compels the trustee to bring this action."

Ruth Madoff's lawyer described the trustee's lawsuit as "perplexing" and unwarranted...

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