Plaintiffs Argue that Banks May be Liable for Madoff Investment Lawsuit
Investment fraud lawyers representing investors who were burned in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme are attempting to hold their banks liable.
At least one lawsuit in Florida is attempting to place liability on Banco Santander. The company heavily invested in Madoff's scheme through its investment management company, Optical Investment Services SA. The Florida lawsuit is a class action against Banco Santander, Optimal Investment and other agencies. The lawsuit claims that Banco Santander indulged in violations of federal security law and committed “gross negligence, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment." The company has offered to settle with clients whose investments in Optimal Strategic U.S. Equity Fund were impacted by Madoff's scheme. The plaintiff's counsel, however, has called the settlement offer “misleading” because customers will be required to release the bank from claims as part of the settlement.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that the Westport National Bank is under scrutiny because $60 million of its costumers' money the bank had in an account in its own name, with funds flowing into the Madoff scheme, are long gone. The bank's relationship with Madoff was revealed when a Florida couple, who believed they were investing with Westport National, began investigating how much money they had lost to Madoff. The bank has said it only maintains custody accounts for the customers who knew they were investing in Madoff's scheme. Westport has refused to confirm exactly how much of their customers' money made its way to Madoff in his investment fraud scheme, but documents show that approximately $60.7 million of the bank's money was in the Madoff account in November last year. Money from a number of separate custody accounts was pooled into a single account. The role of Robert L. Silverman, a consultant who apparently recommended the scheme to custody account holders, has also come to light. Mr. Silverman apparently received a commission from the fees Westport collected from its clients.
Investment Fraud Lawyer
The Bernard Madoff swindle, like many others that have been exposed in recent months, is complicated and often involves more than a single party being held liable, including hedge fund managers who gambled with their clients' money and banks like Westport that dealt with questionable schemes. Pursuing claims for investment losses requires the expertise of an experienced investment fraud attorney who has experience handling such claims.
If you have lost money in the Madoff scheme, contact an investment fraud attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free consultation.
