Interested parties — mostly Bernie Madoff’s victims — want to know the source of his wife’s $70 million in assets, which his legal team says is not connected with his $50 billion fraud scheme, Reuters is reporting.
Ruth Madoff hasn’t been charged with a crime and hasn’t had to reveal the source of her fortune. Madoff’s lawyers are seeking to shield her $70 million from any rulings in his fraud case.
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A lawyer for Madoff’s victims says it’s “absurd” to believe the Madoffs might be able “to protect tens of millions of dollars taken from the many people they have left penniless.”
Absurd? Oh, I think we can come up with a better adjective than that.
It will be interesting to see how Madoff’s lawyers explain his wife’s wealth. She wasn’t independently wealthy when they married, hasn’t made a lot of money from her so-so cookbook, didn’t have a role in her husband’s business and wasn’t known for savvy investing. I just hope they don’t say she earned it “the old-fashioned way.” Because I don’t know what that means.
Don’t be too surprised if the Madoffs do keep a few million dollars. It’s just the cost of doing business these days.
