Victims Of Philip Barry’s Brooklyn Ponzi Scheme Sue JPMorgan Chase, TD Bank, HSBC and M&T Bank For $36 Million

Phillip Barry who has been dubbed Brooklyn’s Bernie Madoff operated a Brooklyn Ponzi scheme that began in 1978 and conned investors out of nearly $40 million to invest in his Leverage group of companies.

Philip Barry was convicted in Brooklyn Federal Court in 2011 for orchestrating a the decades long Brooklyn Ponzi scheme and now his victims have filed a $36 million lawsuit against the banks he used for allegedly “looking the other way” and ignoring the “unusual activity” on his accounts.

Barry allegedly used J.P. Morgan Chase, TD, HSBC and M&T banks to carry out the scheme because they would “look the other way and ignore the activity and notifications from Anti-Money Laundering monitoring system,” according to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

Victims are seeking $25 million in punitive damages and are seeking $11.1 million to get their life savings and retirement funds back.

The suit alleges Barry claimed he was using a “proven trading strategy” to “generate a guaranteed rate of return” at 12.55% a year and they could liquidate their money at any time.

Victims also allege in the suit that whenever a request to withdraw was made, investors were given the run around or “checks would often be returned due to insufficient funds,”

From 2004 to 2009, the banks allegedly allowed Barry to have 1,623 bounced checks, $46,191 in overdraft fees and make several large withdrawals and transactions through Leverage.