Retired Madoff Victim Back to Work as Maid

Date: Friday, January 23, 2009
Author: HFN Daily Report

The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled a woman forced out of retirement and into a job as a housecleaner because she lost her nest egg investing with Bernard Madoff.

Retired nurse Maureen Ebel had to take a job "keeping house, pushing the vacuum cleaner and ironing" for a rich friend when she realized the $7 million she had put with Madoff was gone.

"The first day, I went home and cried," Ebel told the newspaper.

Ebel, who is still mourning the death of her doctor husband in 2000, has put her Lexus SUV up for sale on eBay and listed her Florida condominium with a real estate agent. She also returned over $12,000 in merchandise she bought on credit.

Nonetheless, Ebel is at risk of losing her home outside Philadelphia, the newspaper reported.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that people hoping for remuneration in the alleged $50 billion Madoff Ponzi scheme should expect $0.10 on the dollar.