General Electric Co. yesterday reached a $49 million settlement to end a long-running lawsuit over its relationship with Thomas Petters, the Minnesota businessman serving a 50-year prison term for running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, Reuters reported. The settlement between GE and a trustee for two bankrupt Florida investment funds known as Palm Beach Finance, who was seeking $651 million, was filed with the federal bankruptcy court in West Palm Beach, Florida. Court approval is required. GE denied liability in agreeing to settle claims related to its General Electric Capital unit, one of Petters’ lenders. The accord removes a financial overhang for Boston-based GE, which is trying to cut costs while projecting lower 2019 cash flow and profitability from its core industrial operations. Petters was convicted in December 2009 on 20 counts including fraud and money laundering, over what prosecutors called a $3.65 billion fraud.
