Ruth Madoff Withdrew Millions Before Husband's Arrest

Secretary of State William Galvin says Ruth Madoff, the wife of failed Ponzi scheme financier Bernard Madoff, withdrew $10 million from a Madoff-run account with ties to Massachusetts the day before her husband was arrested for allegedly running his Ponzi scheme.

WBUR's Curt Nickisch reports.

Secretary of State William Galvin says Ruth Madoff took the money out of Cohmad Securities, a New York firm co-owned by her husband. Galvin says she also withdrew an additional five and a half million dollars a few weeks before that. Galvin says officials nationwide need a more cohesive strategy to recover money invested with Madoff.

WILLIAM GALVIN: It's our hope that other regulators, especially those with criminal jurisdictions, will take advantage of the materials we've uncovered to try to locate any assets that might be out there.

Madoff was arrested in December. Investigators say he admitted to swindling thousands of investors in a massive Ponzi scheme.