Three opulent homes owned by U.S. Ponzi scheme perpetrator Bernard Madoff will be auctioned off to help his victims, authorities say.

U.S. Marshal Service spokesman Roland Ubaldo said Friday that Madoff's cliffside summer home on New York's Long Island, a penthouse on Manhattan's Upper East Side and a palatial mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., would be sold to pay restitution to those who lost billions in the former financier's Ponzi scheme, The New York Daily News reported.

Together, the marshal service says, the homes are worth about $20 million.

"Our goal since day one is to maximize returns for the victims," Ubaldo said. "Obviously, our top priority is restitution for the victims."

Madoff this year pleaded guilty to a massive investment scam that affected pension plans, hedge funds, charities, celebrities and ordinary retirees $65 billion, the Daily News said.