Ruth Madoff turns to charity work

The wife of jailed fraudster Bernard Madoff is homeless and filling her days with charity work, according to the New York Post.

Ruth Madoff is delivering meals on wheels in south Florida, the newspaper reports.

She is reportedly homeless, after finding it difficult to find someone willing to rent or sell property to her. The Post reports she is splitting her time between houses belonging to various family members - including her brother-in-law's US$4.5 million ($6.4 million) Palm Beach mansion.

"She doesn’t own a home, friends and relatives have been kind enough to give her places to stay," her lawyer said to the Post.

Mrs Madoff was left with US$2.5 million in cash after his husband was sentenced to 150 years in prison last year. The Post reports that she has to keep receipts for purchases over US$100 and hand them over to a bankruptcy judge.

On the day her husband was sentenced, Mrs Madoff released a statement in which she said "to say that I feel devastated for the many whom my husband has destroyed is truly inadequate".

The Madoffs married in 1959 and enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle as Bernard Madoff fleeced his clients of up to US$65 billion.

Mrs Madoff worked as a book keeper at her husband's firm but has not been charged with any crimes relating to his fraud. She has come under intense media scrutiny since her husband's crimes were uncovered. According to the Post she now often goes by her maiden name Alpern, and has dyed her hair red in an effort to fly under the radar.

- © Fairfax NZ News