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.
The class-action suit filed on behalf of people who lost money follows
One of the alleged ringleaders once commissioned a song about himself for a party in Las Vegas with lyrics celebrating his $10,000 suits and his partner’s affinity for champagne, according to Monday’s complaint in federal court in Ocala, Florida.
With three years of market appreciation buoying most advisors' revenue generation, Morgan Stanley says: Produce a bit more or see a small pay cut.
Brokerages applaud a new rule that will relieve them of the obligation to monitor advisors' side gigs such as driving for Uber or bartending. But regulators say they still have plenty of obligations to monitor outside business activities.
David studied Accounting and Economics at Loyola University Chicago and later deepened his expertise at MIT, focusing on Data and Economic Policy. He was the innovator behind Deloitte Cortex, Deloitte's flagship analytics platform, and previously led software innovations at both Deloitte and Synchrony Bank. With a strong technical background in machine learning and large language models (LLMs), David drives the development of Abacus' products and infrastructure. Today, he guides the company's vision, product strategy, and enterprise AI innovation across regulated industries.
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.
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.
