NEW YORK, July 2 - U.S. marshals seized the luxury $7 million New York City penthouse apartment of imprisoned fraudster Bernard Madoff and his wife, Ruth, officials said on Thursday.

A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service said Mrs Madoff was present when agents took possession of the four-bedroom apartment on Manhattan’s East Side under court orders and then she left. It was not known where she would live and her lawyer could not be reached for comment.