US federal prosecutors seeking to recover money from Bernard Madoff are making little distinction between assets held in the name of the convicted former broker and those belonging to his wife Ruth, who has not been charged with any crime.
Four lavish homes topped the list of the properties the government told a judge they would like to seize: the upper east side Manhattan apartment where Mr Madoff was kept under house arrest until his guilty plea on Thursday, as well as holiday homes in Montauk, New York; Palm Beach, Florida; and Cap d'Antibes, France.
The property has a combined value of about $22m, according to the Madoffs' financial statement ending December 31, which was released separately late last week by Mr Madoff's lawyers, who are arguing for his release from jail pending sentencing in June.