I am Mrs.Ruth Madoff, wife of bernard madoff

I have not yet done any searches on this to verify its legitimacy but after reading I am not sure it is necessary, the figures quoted make it quite laughable and the plan for you to be involved in helping to hide the money for them is not only a lie but also very illegal

From: Mrs.Ruth Madoff <[email protected]>
Sent: recently
Subject: Hello!

Dear Friend ,

I am Mrs.Ruth Madoff, wife of bernard madoff.

I am actually going through some kind of difficult time with my family
right now, as my husband is at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New
York City.
My husband Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2009 and he is likely to
face a maximum sentence of 150 years in prison and $170 billion in
restitution, so there is need for me to move out alot of my personal funds
and peronal belongings around the world , particularly from outside
america, but i need somebody to trust now, because i cannot receive funds
here in america right now.


I would need your help in acquiring some properties and keeping some large
cash amount for me. but first i would prefer to chat with you either on
yahoo chat or Skype. if you are not comfortable with yahoo then write me
,so we can communicate via email.

This is very urgent, i would have to entrust a large amount of money into
your hands and some personal valueables. But this would have to be very
confidential, just between me and you, because the press are afetr me
and my husband name all over the headlines, because of his Wall street
business.

Anyway! don't be scared about the risk, it is a very safe deal i can
assure you of your condidentiality.


Yours Sincerely
Mrs. Ruth Alpern Madoff
Email Contact: [email protected]

Late idea, it seems many people have posted this one Click Here

I have done a little more digging around on this and for anybody who does not know, Bernie Maddoff does in fact exist and he is in a lot of trouble with the law so it seems.

Scammers will often pick up a real story and change it to suit their scam to make it seem more plausable, in this case there will be some kind of fees involved and you will of course need to pay them

If anybody is interested in Bernie Madoff there is a selection of articles on the case Here

This link in particular http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/madoff.html
Which leads to the rest of this article

United States v. Bernard L. Madoff, 09 Cr. 213 (DC). On March 10, 2009, a Criminal Information was filed in Manhattan federal court charging Bernard L. Madoff with eleven felony charges including securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and theft from an employee benefit plan. There is no plea agreement between the Government and the defendant.

On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to all eleven counts in the Information. Madoff faces a statutory maximum sentence of 150 years’ incarceration.Madoff is also subject to mandatory restitution and faces fines up to twice the gross gain or loss derived from the offenses. The Criminal Information also includes forfeiture allegations which would require Madoff to forfeit the proceeds of the charged crimes, as well as all property involved in the money laundering offenses and all property traceable to such property. Links to the Criminal Information and the Government’s Letter Concerning Maximum Penalties are below.

You will see some similiarities to the above article and the scammers email, they have just changed a couple of minor details, one of which is the amount of money he stands to be required to pay

I'm neither an attorney nor someone who was scammed in the Ponzi scheme which Mr. Madoff has apparently been involved in for many years . . . but as "Ralph" has said, there is a grain of truth in the initial e-mail, which is that Mr. Madoff is currently in jail, and that Mr. and Mrs. Madoff apparently have a HUGE amount of assets which the USA government is interested in locating, and which the Madoffs may have incentive to hide. If I recall correctly, he/she/they mailed jewelry worth thousands and thousands of dollars as alleged "holiday presents" to various family members and friends in December, AFTER a judge had signed an order freezing any transfer of his/her/their/family/business assets in mid-December.

Therefore if anyone were to fall for this particular e-mail, they would almost surely be (a) not only falling for a scam, but also (b) potentially violating US laws and court rulings.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/1 ... 52368.html

December 19, 2008

MADOFF ASSETS: Judge Signs Order Protecting Madoff’s Art, Money, Houses, Jewelry

. . . The judge's order, agreed to by Madoff, demanded details of all assets, funds or property held by Madoff and the names and locations of entities, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, investments or assets held by his business, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

The order also puts control of all of his artwork, property, cars, jewelry and other items in the hands of a court-appointed receiver.

The order also requires that the receiver, lawyer Lee Richards, prevent the disposal of any of the assets of Madoff Securities International Ltd. and determine to what extent funds were comingled between Madoff's U.S. operations and any businesses overseas. . . .