BC Business
TD Centre | BCBusinessTD Bank is facings serious sanctions in the U.S. following the loss of $67-million judgement in a Ponzi scheme case.
Toronto-Dominion Bank could see possible sanctions after losing a $67-million Ponzi scheme case in Florida. Toronto-Dominion Bank could face some heavy sanctions in the U.S. due to what it terms a “copying error.” Coquina Investments is seeking sanctions and accusing the bank of bad behaviour during a Ponzi scheme case. The case concluded in January with a $67-million judgment against TD, but the investment firm claims TD introduced an altered document during the trial.
Toronto-Dominion Bank could face some heavy sanctions in the U.S. due to what it terms a “copying error.” Coquina Investments is seeking sanctions and accusing the bank of bad behaviour during a Ponzi scheme case. The case concluded in January with a $67-million judgment against TD, but the investment firm claims TD introduced an altered document during the trial. The case centered on a TD customer who defrauded Coquina and numerous others then laundered $1.2 billion of the proceeds, and a Florida federal court jury found the bank guilty of collusion in the scheme. The scheme’s ringleader was sentenced to 50 years in prison while TD was slapped with a $67-million verdict, including $35 million in punitive damages. During the course of the case, TD produced a document that originally assessed the fraudster as “high risk” for laundering, but the big red stamp saying so on the top of the original document was obscured in the version presented in court. Coquina’s lawyer claims the bank purposely obscured the stamp to sway the jury. TD responded to the allegations, saying the altered document was merely the result of a “copying error.” Clerical error or otherwise, the allegations could land one of the world’s largest banks in even hotter water with the American justice system.