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In the decade since R. Allen Stanford’s international financial empire was exposed as a fiction, investors in his Ponzi scheme have recouped just a tiny fraction of the life savings many of them lost. Now a small group of individuals, backed by hedge funds, is making a last-ditch effort to recover money from five banks that they contend turned a blind eye to Stanford’s fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported. In a lawsuit filed in Dallas federal court on Friday, these investors alleged that the banks “aided, abetted and conspired” with Stanford to steal from investors and that “their close profitable relationship with such a wealthy, high-profile customer led them to callously ignore R.A. Stanford’s fraud.” The five banks they sued on Friday are HSBC Bank PLC, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Houston, Trustmark National Bank, and Societe Generale Private Banking. Most of these institutions had long-term relationships with Stanford and his entities, and those ties gave them insights into the fraud as it was happening, the investors allege. In addition to filing the new lawsuit, investors in Stanford have lobbied lawmakers in recent months, met with Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton and pressed for the return of frozen overseas assets. Since Stanford’s arrest and the collapse of Stanford International Bank Ltd. in 2009, what remains of his far-flung financial operation has been wound down by lawyers and consultants in Antigua and Dallas, where court-appointed liquidators have sold assets, sued alleged beneficiaries of the fraud and distributed proceeds across roughly 18,000 victims.

GT Advanced Technologies and its former CEO have settled allegations that they misled investors about its performance of a contract to supply Apple with sapphire glass for iPhones, CFO.com reported. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said GT knew by late April 2014 that it had failed to meet quantity, quality, and delivery standards under the contract, resulting in Apple withholding the final $139 million installment payment and giving it the right to accelerate repayment of the $306 million previously advanced to GT. But in August 2014, CEO Thomas Gutierrez told analysts in an earnings call that GT expected to receive the final payment by the end of October 2014. Weeks later, the company filed for chapter 11 protection. The contract had been a major coup for GT, representing what the SEC called a game-changing event that was “material to GT’s revenue and reported liabilities and how its stock was valued.” As part of a settlement of civil securities fraud charges, Gutierrez agreed to pay $140,000 in civil penalties, disgorgement and prejudgment interest.

A U.S. financial regulator charged three foreign exchange trading businesses and five executives with operating a $75 million scheme that used investor funds for fraudulent payments and the purchase of private-plane charters, exotic vacations and other big-ticket items, the Wall Street Journal reported. Michael DaCorta, Joseph Anile II, Raymond Montie III, Francisco Duran and John Haas allegedly operated a fraudulent foreign-currency trading business that affected more than 700 U.S. residents, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The agency also named Oasis International Group Ltd., Oasis Management LLC and Satellite Holdings Co. in its complaint. According to the CFTC, the five men raised funds from individual investors for two commodity pools. The men falsely told investors they would receive a guaranteed annual return of 12 percent from the pooled investments with no risk involved, the agency said. Beginning in April 2014, the men deposited roughly one-third of the $75 million in the trading accounts for the two investment pools, and subsequently lost those funds in trading, the CFTC said. Additionally, nearly $50 million was used to make “Ponzi-like” payments to several participants in the pools, as well as unauthorized purchases for goods such as Florida real estate and sports tickets, the agency said. A hearing on the case has been set for April 29 in Tampa, Fla.

The U.S. District Attorney’s Office for Connecticut said that Joel C. Reilly of Wallingford, Conn., pleaded guilty to one count of bankruptcy fraud on Wednesday after allegedly securing credit using another individual’s name, then declaring bankruptcy on their behalf for those same loans, the New Haven Register reported. Reilly “fraudulently applied for and obtained loans and lines of credit in the name of another individual... without the victim’s knowledge or permission, using her name and personal information,” according to the U.S. District Attorney's office. The outstanding debt on the loans was approximately $211,142 as of December 2016, spokesman Tom Carson said, which Reilly could not repay.

Two years after the Fyre Festival failed, it continues to make waves: Hulu LLC and Netflix Inc. may face subpoenas over their documentaries about the festival, Bloomberg News reported. Gregory Messer, the chapter 7 trustee for the Fyre Festival estate, sought the subpoenas in a filing on Tuesday in bankruptcy court. He asked the judge to require Hulu and Netflix to show whether they paid for footage that should have been deemed an asset of the company. The Fyre Festival, brainchild of Billy McFarland, was meant to be a two-weekend-long music festival in the Bahamas. It was scheduled to take place in the spring of 2017. The festival ended before it could begin: Musical acts canceled, promised luxury accommodations weren’t provided, and the five-star catering that was advertised was replaced with cheese sandwiches. McFarland pleaded guilty to financial fraud and is serving a six-year prison sentence. If the subpoenas are issued, the estate would be able to mine the information for any evidence that the Netflix and Hulu films used an asset such as video footage without compensating the estate.

Attorney Michael Avenatti faces 36 criminal charges after he was indicted by a grand jury in Southern California, the Washington Post reported. Avenatti, known for representing Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Trump, was arrested last month in New York for allegedly attempting to extort millions of dollars from Nike. Separately, he was charged in a case in California for allegedly using a client’s settlement money to pay for his personal expenses. The grand jury indictment, which was handed down on Wednesday, charges the attorney with wire fraud, bank fraud and tax fraud, among other things. Specifically, it alleges that Avenatti stole from his clients, including from a paraplegic man, and took payroll taxes from employees at his Seattle-based coffee chain, Tully’s, according to the Associated Press. The AP reported that the attorney is also charged with failing to pay taxes, lying in bankruptcy proceedings and committing bank fraud.

The head of a Sherman Oaks firm accused of bilking thousands of investors in a $1.3-billion Ponzi scheme was arrested Thursday along with two associates on federal criminal charges, the Los Angeles Times reported. Robert Shapiro, the owner of the Woodbridge Group of Cos., and two other company executives were accused of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and other violations of federal law in an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Florida. Shapiro, Dane R. Roseman and Ivan Acevedo were arrested in California and pleaded not guilty in federal court in Los Angeles. Roseman and Acevedo were released on bond, while Shapiro remained in custody. (Shapiro should not be confused with L.A. celebrity attorney Robert L. Shapiro.) Prosecutors said a Ponzi scheme was orchestrated from Woodbridge’s offices throughout the United States, including in Sherman Oaks, where it is headquartered, and in Boca Raton, Fla., where it was previously headquartered. High-pressure sales tactics were used to secure money for what were promised to be “low risk” and “conservative” investments, but in reality the funds were funneled to real estate owned by Shapiro, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

The chief executive and a managing partner of the collapsed Dubai private equity firm Abraaj Capital Ltd have been arrested on U.S. charges that they defrauded their investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Reuters reported. Abraaj founder and Chief Executive Arif Naqvi was arrested in the United Kingdom last Friday, while managing partner Mustafa Abdel-Wadood was arrested at a New York hotel on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Griswold said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. Griswold said that prosecutors would seek to have Naqvi, who is charged with the same crimes, extradited. Casey Larsen, a spokesman for Naqvi, could not immediately be reached. Abdel-Wadood appeared at the Manhattan hearing and pleaded not guilty to securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, did not immediately request bail, saying he needed more time to become familiar with the case.

After eight years of investigation and litigation, Michael S. Budwick and Solomon B. Genet of Meland Russin & Budwick in Miami negotiated a $49 million settlement agreement with General Electric Capital Corp. over claims the Boston-based lender became a co-conspirator in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history, Daily Business Review reported. The win stems from a Florida bankruptcy case, in which Budwick and Genet represent Barry E. Mukamal, trustee for two Florida hedge funds — Palm Beach Finance Partners L.P. and Palm Beach Finance II L.P. — down $651 million after lending it to businessman Tom Petters. Between 1995 and 2008, Petters ran a $3.65 billion scheme, using fake documents to convince investors to help buy overstocked electronics to sell to retailers. Petters claimed wholesale giant Costco was his main customer — only it wasn’t. Upon discovery in 2008, it was the biggest scam the world had seen. Shortly after, Bernie Madoff and Allen Stanford took the top spots. Petters was convicted, sentenced to 50 years in prison, and his business, Petters Group Worldwide, fell into bankruptcy in Minneapolis. The Palm Beach hedge funds suffered a third of overall losses, so Budwick and Genet traveled the country meeting with victims and perpetrators to pinpoint liability, filing more than 150 lawsuits to claw back lost money. Most settled, but one wouldn’t go away. Though GE Capital was a victim, Budwick and Genet found it discovered Petters’ scam in 2000 but told no one, allegedly on the condition it would be repaid by new, unwitting investors. According to Budwick, GE Capital wrote a recommendation letter Petters used to recruit fresh marks.