TD Bank ordered to pay $67M in Ponzi case
TD Bank must pay an investment group $67 million for its role in a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by a former Miami lawyer. The investors claim TD Bank employees knew about the fraud and participated in misleading investors.
A federal jury in Miami yesterday decided that TD Bank owes Texas-based Coquina Investments for its involvement in the scheme, but a bank spokeswoman said the bank is not guilty of any wrongdoing, according to The Associated Press. Scott Rothstein is currently serving a 50-year sentence for the scheme discovered in 2009 in which he used fake legal settlements to promise returns for investors. Rothstein used a TD Bank account and built a fake TD Bank website as part of the scheme. Coquina Investments' attorney David Mandel said bank employees helped Rothstein assure investors their money was secure; Rothstein also said in a deposition that he bribed a former bank vice president so he would ignore the illegal activity.
TD Bank spokeswoman Rebecca Acevedo said the bank is exploring its legal options. Other cases from wronged investors against the bank are pending. The Toronto-based bank has U.S. headquarters in Portland and New Jersey.
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