Bank of America sued for allowing $102M Ponzi scheme

Bank of America was accused in a lawsuit of providing more than 100 accounts used to perpetrate what U.S. regulators called a $102 million Ponzi scheme.

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The class-action suit filed on behalf of people who lost money follows a complaint last week by the SEC alleging that five men and three companies defrauded more than 600 investors.

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The brother and sister who sued to recover losses from their late father’s investment claim the fraudsters “could not have perpetuated their scheme without the knowing assistance of their primary banking institution, Bank of America, which lent the scheme an air of legitimacy and provided critical support, including at times when the scheme would have otherwise collapsed," according to the complaint.

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Bank of America Corp. signage is displayed at a branch in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2013. Bank of America Corp. rose in New York trading after setting a $1.5 billion goal for its sale of China Construction Bank Corp. shares, a deal that will end an eight-year investment in the Chinese lender. Photographer: Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bank of America spokesman Bill Halldin had no immediate comment on the suit.

The lender is accused of failing to spot suspicious activity, including deposits of hundreds of thousands of dollars into accounts with relatively small, negative or nonexistent balances, followed by transfers within the same week to other accounts or investors seeking to cash out.

The architects of the scheme promised they would put investor funds into profitable and perhaps dividend-paying companies, according to the SEC. But they spent $20 million from the investment pool to enrich themselves, made $38.5 million in "Ponzi-like payments" and transferred much of the rest away from the companies that were supposed to receive the money, the regulator said.


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