Hands off that $130 million - it belongs to my wife: Madoff

Bernie Madoff claims $130m in assets are unrelated to his alleged $100b scam, which robbed thousands of investors including celebrities Kevin Bacon and Zsa Zsa Gabor (left). Photos / AP

Bernard Madoff is seeking to keep a $14 million Manhattan penthouse and an additional $124 million in assets, saying they are unrelated to the fraud that authorities say cost victims more than $100 billion.

In court papers filed today in US District Court in Manhattan, Madoff and his lawyer claim the apartment, $45 million in municipal bonds and $34 million more in a separate account all belong to Madoff's wife, Ruth.

The bonds in an account held by Ruth Madoff at COHMAD Securities Corp. and about $34 million held by her in a Wachovia Bank account "are unrelated to the alleged Madoff fraud and only Ruth Madoff has a beneficial interest in these assets," Bernard Madoff and lawyer Ira Sorkin said, according to the papers.

Sorkin declined to comment today.

A court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's assets has said the apartment and other property used to secure bail was off limits for now. But if there's a conviction, those assets and possibly property of Madoff "insiders" could be seized to help pay claims by alleged victims.

"We are looking at every member of the Madoff family," David Sheen, an attorney representing the trustee, said recently regarding the personal property.

The information was contained in an order of consent asking a judge to grant the federal government authority to seek forfeiture of assets involved in any fraud. It was filed in a case brought by the SEC against Madoff.

Trustee Irving H. Picard has said that nearly $1 billion in cash and securities has been recovered for investors so far.

Madoff, a 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman, has been confined to the Manhattan apartment under house arrest since early December. The apartment was purchased in 1984.

He was arrested and charged with securities fraud after authorities said in court papers that he confessed to his sons that he had carried out a giant Ponzi scheme for years, using new money from investors to pay off early investors while bogus statements claimed consistent investment gains.

-AP