http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081224/ts_alt_afp/usfinancefraudwieselfoundation

How terribly sad, that the Elie Wiesel Fund was wiped out by Bernie.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity lost more than 15 million dollars — nearly all of its assets — in the alleged fraud scheme run by Wall Street baron Bernard Madoff, the fund said Wednesday.

“We are writing to inform you that the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity had 15.2 million dollars under management with Bernard Madoff Investment Securities,” said the foundation, which aims to combat anti-Semitism, on its website.

“This represented substantially all of the Foundation’s assets,” it said.

“We are deeply saddened and distressed that we, along with many others, have been the victims of what may be one of the largest investment frauds in history.”

The statement added that the foundation “remains committed to carrying on the lifelong work of our founder, Elie Wiesel. We shall not be deterred from our mission to combat indifference, intolerance, and injustice around the world.”

Wiesel, 80, a Nobel laureate and prolific author who survived the Holocaust, created the foundation some 20 years ago to foster international dialogue and youth programs to teach tolerance.

He is among dozens of wealthy Jews to have lost substantial amounts of money in Madoff’s scheme.

Prosecutors say Madoff confessed to losing upwards of 50 billion dollars over years of running a pyramid scheme, where new investors were secretly fleeced to pay returns to earlier investors.

The 70-year-old former chairman of the Nasdaq stock market and a mainstay of the powerful American Jewish community is currently free on bail of 10 million dollars as police continue their probe.