PNC Bank office. Photo: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock. PNC Bank office. Photo: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.

Genovese Joblove & Battista shareholder Jonathan E. Perlman, as court-appointed receiver in a Florida fraud case, has sued PNC Bank for allegedly aiding and abetting an $85 million phony debt relief scheme.

The bank is accused of helping businessman Jeremy Lee Markus, who used more than 30 businesses and individuals to run the scheme with Craig Smith and Yisbet Segrea, according to a May 2017 lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission and the Florida attorney general's Office of Legal Affairs. Pompano debt relief companies 321 Loans Inc. and Helping America Group LLC are among more than 15 accused.

Markus and his team allegedly told thousands of consumers their unsecured debts would be settled or reduced if they made an upfront payment and subsequent monthly payments ranging from $200 to $1,000. But instead, consumers lost about $85 million, according to Perlman's complaint in the Southern District of Florida, which says the operation was carried out using 142 different internet domain names and 440 phone numbers.

“Consumers were left in worse financial positions, some of whom were already in financial distress, elderly or disabled,” the complaint said.

Markus began banking with PNC when he started the fraud in early 2014, according to Perlman's complaint, which claims the bank gave him the benefit of the doubt way too often. It allegedly overlooked months of suspicious and illegal transactions, including check kiting, fraud, excessive wire transfers and chronically overdrawn accounts.

PNC did shut down Markus and his companies' accounts in July 2014 and alerted other banks of the activity, but “shockingly” welcomed them back nine months later when Markus appealed to Vice President Denton Douglas.

Markus then took the debt relief scheme to “new levels,” according to the complaint, funneling through millions in victims' money. In all, the lawsuit claims $32.8 million passed through 12 accounts, some of which went offshore to such places as Panama.

PNC's lawyers — Nina S. Mandel, Diana M. Joskowicz, Mark S. Kokanovich, Melanie J. Vartabedian and Peter D. Hardy — deferred to their client, who declined to comment.

Markus used his proceeds to buy a $5 million waterfront house on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, also amassing other luxury homes, watches, a gun collection and gold coins, according to the lawsuit, which seeks a judgment against PNC, interest and other relief.

Gregory M. Garno, Theresa M.B. Van Vliet, Michael A. Friedman and W. Barry Blum of Genovese Joblove represent Perlman, but were unavailable for comment before deadline Thursday.

As receiver, Perlman has taken control of the defendant companies to investigate their links to money and property, and to take legal action against people and companies with liability.

“We're going to do our best to get as much recovery as we can for the victims and we're confident that they are going to have a recovery in this case,” Perlman said.

Perlman has headed several receiverships in cases brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the FTC. He's also a court-appointed receiver in Florida cases involving a robocall Google impersonation scheme by Pointbreak Media and World Patent Marketing's invention-promotion scam with links to former acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.

 

Read the full complaint:

 

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