Pulman, Cappuccio, Pullen & Benson, LLP filed a lawsuit today in a San Antonio, Texas state court on behalf of 97 former investors at Stanford International Bank. The lawsuit, styled Rupert, et al. v. Winter, et al., seeks almost $80 million in damages from insurance brokers Willis Group Holdings, Ltd. and Bowen, Miclette & Britt, Inc. and from a trust company, Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, affiliated with a Panamanian law firm.
“Allen Stanford didn`t build this bank all by himself,” said lead attorney and firm managing partner Randy Pulman. “He had help. Companies like Willis, Bowen Miclette, and the Aleman firm and trust company were too close to the action at Stanford International Bank to avoid responsibility for this debacle.”
Stanford International Bank took in $7.2 billion in deposits from all over the United States and Latin America until it was shut down this February by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC claims that the bank was a “massive Ponzi scheme” whose founder, Allen Stanford, is in jail outside of Houston, Texas awaiting trial.
The lawsuit against the insurance brokers seeks to hold them responsible for “Safety and Security” letters they sent to the plaintiffs saying that deposits at Stanford International Bank were protected by insurance and that the bank was made up of “first class business people.” “Allen Stanford counted on these insurance companies to help him separate our clients from their money – now, we`re counting on them to put it back. It is against the law in Texas for an insurance broker to tell someone something is insured when it`s not,” explained Pulman.
Many of the plaintiffs` Stanford deposits were held in trust accounts served by Stanford Trust Company Limited and Aleman, Cordero, Galindo & Lee Trust (BVI) Limited as trustees. The lawsuit alleges that the trust company, the firm, and its principals breached fiduciary duties to the trusts.
The lawsuit also seeks damages from several individual employees of those companies, and several former employees at Stanford Fiduciary Investor Services and Stanford Trust Company. The suit alleges that all the defendants are also liable for securities fraud.
Randy Pulman has already filed suit on behalf of five Stanford depositors against Lloyd`s of London and the Stanford Receiver in a Dallas, Texas federal court. The lawsuit, styled De Leon v. Lloyd’s of Lond, seeks damages and a declaration from the court that the proceeds of Stanford International Bank`s “Bankers Blanket Bond” insurance policies should be held for the depositors.
Pulman, Cappuccio, Pullen & Benson, LLP is a fifteen-lawyer firm in San Antonio, Texas that specializes in representing investors and businesses in litigation and transactions. The firm is also home to San Antonio`s second largest bankruptcy practice. For more information, visit the firm website at http://www.pulmanlaw.com.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS13716+15-Sep-2009+BW20090915
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