Louis J. Freeh, a former FBI director and the court-appointed creditor trustee in the MF Global bankruptcy, estimates that creditors’ claims could be in excess of $3 billion. In his recent report to the bankruptcy court, Freeh estimates creditors likely include major banks, investors and service providers, potentially leading to 112 claims against MF Global, which collapsed in October 2011.
Irving Picard is seeking to block a $270 million state enforcement action brought by California Attorney General Kamala Harris against investment adviser Stanley Chais’ estate. Picard argues that pursuant to federal bankruptcy laws, only the trustee can recoup funds on behalf of Madoff’s former customers. Harris, in turn, contends that her lawsuit is an exception to the federal bankruptcy laws because she is exercising her police powers under state law.
On June 6, 2012, the trustee liquidating Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities Inc., Irving Picard, filed new lawsuits in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan against several European private banks. Included in the many new lawsuits he has filed are a complaint seeking $122.2 million against ABN Amro Fund Services Nominees Ltd.; a complaint seeking $108.1 million against Belgian private lender Banque Degroof SA; and two complaints filed against Swiss private banks EFG Bank SA and Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, respectively seeking amounts of $354.9 million and $179.4 million.
Irving Picard, the trustee in charge of recovering approximately $20 billion from the Madoff Ponzi scheme, may now seek claims against the wives of Bernard Madoff's two sons according to a recent court order. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York against Koch Industries, Inc., Madoff trustee Irving Picard is seeking $21.5 million, representing a return of the profits Koch Industries earned through Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Specifically, the trustee alleges that a subsidiary of Koch Industries funneled a substantial amount of its clients' funds into Bernard L.
On Monday, December 12, 2011, Madoff trustee Irving Picard filed a lawsuit against Credit Suisse Group AG in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan alleging it and several of its affiliates harbored money that belonged to Madoff's estate. Specifically, Picard is attempting to recover $375 million, representing funds that were deposited with Credit Suisse through two of Madoff's largest feeder funds, Fairfield Sentry Ltd.
Investors have agreed to settle securities claims against more than 30 underwriters who underwrote in excess of $31 billion in debt and equity offerings for Lehman Brothers, the collapse of which was a key chapter in the global financial crisis. The plaintiffs in these actions alleged that the underwriters, which included Bank of America and units of Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, assisted Lehman Brothers in making misstatements about its finances prior to its implosion and eventual bankruptcy filing. The proposed settlement still requires district court app
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is leading an investigation into the bankruptcy of brokerage MF Global Holdings Ltd. and the role that its primary regulator, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), played leading up to its recent bankruptcy. MF Global collapsed as a result of holding more than $6 billion in European sovereign debt, which rating agencies recently downgraded to just above junk status. In addition, more than $600 million in client cash is reportedly missing from MF Global's books.
Irving Picard's lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. styled Picard v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., 11-cv-913, in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, was dismissed on November 1, 2011. U.S.
Dissatisfied with the ongoing multistate and federal efforts to reach a settlement agreement with major U.S. banks over unlawful foreclosure practices, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley indicated that her office was independently preparing to file several lawsuits. A number of U.S. states, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, have accused the five largest mortgage servicers, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ally Financial and Wells Fargo & Co., of failing to follow proper foreclosure procedures.