Investor who claims Madoff affair says the financier was ‘petrified’ his wife would find out

Alleged mistress: Madoff feared wife’s reaction

NEW YORK — An investor who claims she had an affair with Bernard Madoff says the disgraced financier was “petrified” that his wife would find out.

The investor, Sheryl Weinstein, theorized Tuesday that a divorce could have prompted financial scrutiny.

Madoff’s wrongdoing eventually came to light anyway. He’s now serving 150 years in prison for defrauding investors of billions of dollars.

Weinstein wrote a book called “Madoff’s Other Secret: Love, Money, Bernie and Me.”

She said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that — unlike some other burned investors — she has no art or jewelry to help make ends meet. Says Weinstein: “What I have to sell is my story.”

Attorney Peter Chavkin, who represents Ruth Madoff, has said she did not know about the “alleged affair.”