US authorities seized the Manhattan penthouse owned by convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, forcing out his wife Ruth who was still living there.

"US authorities on Thursday seized the Manhattan penthouse owned by convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff, seen here in March 2009, forcing out his wife Ruth who was still living there."

"The US marshalls went and seized the property," marshall spokeswoman Nikki Credic confirmed to AFP.

Madoff was sentenced on Monday to 150 years in jail for masterminding what the judge described as an "extraordinarily evil" multi-billion-dollar investment scam that cheated thousands of people around the world.

Ruth Madoff, who has not been shown to be complicit in her husband's elaborate "Ponzi" scheme, released a statement after the sentencing that condemned the former Nasdaq chairman's actions.

On Thursday she "voluntarily left" the seven-million-dollar Manhattan suite after officials arrived, Credic said.

The court ordered Madoff forfeit more than 170 billion dollars in illegally obtained assets and in an accompanying order a district court also stipulated Ruth Madoff be stripped of 85 million dollars in assets, leaving her with 2.5 million dollars in cash.