A 68-year-old grandmother from the Hudson Valley with lung disease says she has been financially crippled in Bernard Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme.

Susan Luria's in-laws were among Madoff's closest friends and earliest investors. Luria says the alleged schemer has evaporated every single penny of her $5 million nest egg.

"The fact is I lost my life," says Luria. "Pure and simple, I have lost whatever life I had."

She accuses Madoff of keeping his clients in the dark about their affairs.

"We were told never to bother them, let them do their thing, stay out of it," she says.

Luria's home of 23 years, paintings and other prized possessions have all been put up for sale as she tries to pick up the pieces. Her initial shock at Madoff's charges have since turned to outrage and mourning for the life she once knew.

"I just wanted to get through my life for as long as I have, and they robbed me of that," she says.