Tom Petters, a Minnesota man who operated a $3.7 billion Ponzi scheme – second in size only to that of Bernie Madoff – was convicted in 2009. But Palm Beach Finance Partners, the Florida investors who unknowingly poured over $1 billion into his operation, are claiming M&I Bank should be forced to pay it back. Petters Company, Inc. held an account at M&I. At issue is a 2008 document M&I reportedly signed – and, the investors claim, ignored – that was designed to protect the group.
BMO Harris, which recently purchased M&I, argues the bank was merely a conduit in the scheme, and that any dues it collected were earned. But the investors group claims M&I should have noticed that the $35.35 billion deposited into the M&I account over a period of five years was coming from suppliers from Petters’ companies.
Petters once owned Sun Country Airlines and Polaroid Corp. He is currently in federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., after being convicted on 20 counts of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering for offering investors high returns on loans to finance purchases of electronics and other goods for sale to big box retailers – merchandise that didn’t exist.
BMO Harris is looking for the case to be dismissed.
