{"id":11527342,"date":"2025-07-02T11:23:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T15:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11527342"},"modified":"2025-07-02T12:40:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T16:40:46","slug":"hot-property-4-17m-ruxton-estate-owned-by-the-next-bernie-madoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/02\/hot-property-4-17m-ruxton-estate-owned-by-the-next-bernie-madoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Property: $4.17M Ruxton estate once owned by ‘the next Bernie Madoff\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Address:<\/strong> 1848 Circle Road, Ruxton<\/p>\n

List price: <\/strong>$4,175,000<\/p>\n

Year built:<\/strong> 1869<\/p>\n

Real estate agent: <\/strong>Diane Donohue, Monument Sotheby’s International Realty<\/p>\n

Last sold price\/date:\u00a0<\/strong>$2,499,000 \/ Dec. 11, 2020
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Property size:<\/strong> 3.05 acres<\/p>\n

Unique features:<\/strong> This imposing three-story colonial has many perks \u2014 a bridal staircase, Italian marble, hardwood floors and its own gym. It also has a skeleton in the closet. The mansion recently belonged to Kevin Merrill<\/a>, the Towson financier now serving time for running a multi-million dollar Ponzi (investment fraud) scheme. When FBI agents arrested him there, in 2018, they seized $500,000 in cash on site. \u201cYou were on your way to becoming the next Bernie Madoff,\u201d said U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett during Merrill’s 2019 sentencing.<\/p>\n

The elegant 19th-century estate boasts treasures of its own. Built just after the Civil War, it has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and more than 7,400 square feet of living space. Set on a quiet, tree-lined ridge in Ruxton, the home offers four fireplaces (gas and wood-burning), coffered beam ceilings and skylights to showcase the place. There are bright Italian Carrara countertops, twin wine refrigerators and an oversized breakfast island in the sprawling kitchen.<\/p>\n

The master suite features a fireplace, a generous dressing area and a private porch. There’s also a gleaming white marble spa bath and soaking tub. A back staircase allows for private comings and goings. On the property is a patio with an all-brick hearth, a stylish parking courtyard and a heated garage that can fit five cars. That must have irked Merrill; reportedly, he owned about 20 of them.<\/p>\n

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Klingaman at jklingaman@baltsun.com and 410-332-6456.<\/em><\/p>\n