Feb 11, 2009 2:45 pm US/Eastern
Official: Wife Of Madoff Pulled $15M Before Arrest
Deadline To Indict Disgraced Money Manager On Fraud Charges Extended 30 Days
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
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Bernard L. Madoff walks down Lexington Ave to his apartment on Dec.17, 2008, in New York City.
Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
A Massachusetts state official says the wife of disgraced money manager Bernard Madoff withdrew $15 million from a firm co-owned by her husband - including $10 million on the day before his arrest.
Secretary of State William Galvin says Ruth Madoff withdrew the money in two steps from Cohmad Securities Corp., which is co-owned by Madoff.
Galvin said she made withdrawals on Nov. 25 and Dec. 10 -- the day before Madoff turned himself in on charges he swindled billions from investors. He cited reports produced by Cohmad as proof of the withdrawals.
Galvin is trying to stop Cohmad from doing business in Massachusetts because of its relationship with Madoff.
A telephone number listed to Ruth Madoff in Palm Beach, Fla., rang busy and a number in New York had been disconnected.
Meanwhile, earlier Wednesday morning a person familiar with the Madoff case says a deadline to indict him on fraud charges has been extended by 30 days.
The government faced a Wednesday deadline to obtain a grand jury indictment. But lawyers agreed to delay the indictment as authorities continue to investigate the case.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is
ongoing.
Madoff was arrested in December after investigators said he confessed to his sons that he had swindled investors of $50 billion in a Ponzi scheme.
The 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman remains confined to his Manhattan penthouse under house arrest.
On Monday this week, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an agreement with Madoff that could eventually force him to pay a civil fine and return money raised from investors.
The partial judgment, which renders permanent a preliminary injunction that froze Madoff's assets after his arrest in December, must be approved by the judge overseeing the case in federal court in Manhattan.
The civil proceeding is separate from the criminal case against the prominent Wall Street figure, who is accused of bilking $50 billion from investors in what may be the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Madoff was arrested on Dec. 11 after allegedly confessing to his sons that he had stolen from investors for years.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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