Welcome to Inner City Press’ Bank Beat. We aim to scrutinize the industry, from high to low. Our other Reporters cover Community Reinvestment, the Federal Reserve, and other beats. ICP has published a (double) book about the Bank Beat-relevant topic of predatory lending - click here for sample chapters, an interactive map, and ordering information. The Washington Post of March 15, 2004, calls Predatory Bender: America in the Aughts "the first novel about predatory lending;" the London Times of April 15, 2004, "A Novel Approach," said it "has a cast of colorful characters." See also, "City Lit: Roman a Klepto [Review of 'Predatory Bender']," by Matt Pacenza, City Limits, Sept.-Oct. 2004. The Pittsburgh City Paper says the 100-page afterword makes the "indispensable point that predatory lending is now being aggressively exported to the rest of the globe." Click here for that review; click here to Search This Site. Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere, which include bank-related topics.
Click here for Inner City Press' weekday news reports, from the United Nations and elsewhere. Click here for a recent BBC piece on Inner City Press' reporting from the United Nations. New: Follow us on TWITTER BloggingHeads.tv Click for March 1, 2011 BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN Corruption by Inner City Press. Until next time, for or with more information, contact us.
September
13, 2021
PNC Bank Filed Request For Subpoena on Dreambuilders Now Another Friday Request
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Sept 10 – PNC Bank has been
sued for assignment of loan to "Dreambuilder
Investments, LLC which describes itself as "a
mortgage resolution and investment company
bringing liquidity, efficiency and humanity to
distressed markets."
On July 30 PNC filed a request in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York for an order empowering a subpoena on
Dreambuilder of 30 Wall Street and its CEO Peter
J Andrews of 55 Liberty Street.
In another Federal case, an order says
"Dreambuilder Investments LLC (“DBI”) is owned
by a series of LLCs, each of which owned by
Andrews and Rockingham Capital."
Now
on September 10, PNC has complained to the
assigned Judge, Valerie E. Caproni, about
non-compliance with the subpoenas, and requests
an order for documents in five days, deposition
two days after that. PNC says "time is of the
essence because the discovery cut-off in the
California proceeding is October 15, 2021."
Inner City Press, which covers the SDNY, found and is immediately reporting on the case. It is In Re Application of PNC Bank, N.A., 21-mc-611 (Caproni)
***
September
6, 2021
In XRP Case Ripple Wants Trading Records of SEC Staff and Family on Crypto, SEC Says No
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, Sept 3 – In SEC v. Ripple Labs Inc.
et al., a discovery hearing was held on April 30
before U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York Magistrate Judge Netburn.
Inner City Press live
tweeted it, see below, then put underlying
emails on Patreon here.
On
May 21, after an SEC submission now on Patreon here,
podcast here,
Judge Netburn held another conference, this time
on whether the SEC can get access to legal
advise to Ripple. Inner City Press fought to
cover it and did, live tweeting it here
and below.
On
September 3, the SEC opposed Ripple's motion to
compel the production of details of the trading
of SEC employees and their family members. The
SEC argues that its policy states that even
ethically cleared transactions do not imply that
what is bought is legal. Watch this site.
On
August 31, Judge Netburn held another
proceeding, and agreed to review documents in
camera as to which the SEC asserts deliberative
process privilege. Inner City Press live tweeted
it, here
and below, and now publishes from the case an email
involving Tenreiro and others saying
August
30, 2021
With Griffith Jailed Before NoKo Trial He Asks To Exclude Evidence of Wealth, Tor & DPRK
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Pod
Exclusive Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, August 27 – Virgil Griffith, charged
with violating North Korea sanctions in
connection with a crypto-currency conference
there, faced a bail review proceeding - in
person - on July 20. He lost and was remanded.
Inner City Press was there, and live tweeted, here
and below (podcast here)
Now
late on August 27 Griffith's lawyers have filed
his motions to limine, seeking to exclude
evidence at trial including about his "purported
personal wealth and cryptocurrency holdings..
involvement with Tor / 'Dark Web'... DPRK's
nuclear program and any implication that Mr.
Griffith was involved in said program." Watch
this site.
On
August 24 the US Attorney's Office acknowledged
that at least four FBI agents not on the case
accessed the search warrant returns from
Griffith's accounts:
"(1)
On May 4, 2020, a now-retired FBI agent
conducted a search on the Platform and
then, based on the returns from that
search, viewed at least some portion of the
Search Warrant Returns.
(2)
On April 6, 2021, and April 19, 2021, an FBI
analyst ran three searches on the Platform and
viewed at least some portion of the Search
Warrant Returns.
(3)
On May 27, 2021, an FBI analyst conducted a
search on the Platform and, as a result of
that search, viewed at least some portion of the
Search Warrant Returns.
(4)
As described above, on August 11, 2021, an FBI
analyst conducted a search in the Platform
and viewed at least some portion of the Search
Warrant Returns. She shared those results with,
among others, an FBI agent also not on the
prosecution team, who emailed them to the
FBI case agent." Full letter on Inner City
Press' DocumentCloud here.
August
23, 2021
Calk Found Guilty Of Manafort Loans To Get Cabinet or UN Position, Moves For Acquittal
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast 2 3 5
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, August 20 – After months of preliminaries,
the trial of Stephen Calk for conspiracy to
trade his bank's loans to Paul Manafort for the
Secretary of the Army position began on June 23.
Inner City Press live tweeted, here,
previous coverage here,
podcast here
On
July 13, after mere hours, the jury found him
guilty. Inner City Press verdict tweet here; in
front of 40 Foley Square, Calk refused questions
(including on his bank and desire of UN
Ambassador position) and was whisked off in a
black car. Video here.
Sentencing set for January 10, 2022. Podcast here.
Update,
with comment from Calk's lawyer: "We are very
disappointed by the verdict and will be pursuing
all available legal remedies, including an
appeal," said Paul H. Schoeman, Co-Managing
Partner at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel
LLP.
August
16, 2021
Avenatti Finances Unsealed After Inner City Press Filings, $1.4 Million PPP Loan Exposed
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
Song
Radio
BBC
- Decrypt
- LightRead - Order
Affidavit
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, August 13 – Michael Avenatti's
financial affidavit to get a publicly paid
lawyer, which Inner City Press has formally
sought to have unsealed for eleven months, were
on July 27 been ordered unsealed. Order.
Podcast here.
Aug 13 podcast here.
But
on August 10 Avenatti's Federal Defenders have
filed a copy of the affidavit with multiple
redactions. The form refers on nearly every
question to an attachment, which is blacked out
in absurd ways. It reads, for example, "I own
stock in two closely held companies that may
have value: (a) [REDACTED] located in [REDACTED] and
(b) [REDACTED]
located in [REDACTED]... I
technically still have an
interest in a private aircraft
(model: HondaJet 420) that was
seized by the IRS and is still
in their possession. This
interest is held through a
single-purpose entity named [REDACTED],"
and so forth.
Inner
City
Press
published the
redacted
affidavit on
its
DocumentCloud
here
and asked,
Will the Court
be accepting
this?
On
August 11, the
correct answer
was: No. "MEMO
ENDORSEMENT as
to Michael
Avenatti (1)
on [139]
LETTER MOTION
re: [139]
LETTER MOTION
addressed to
Judge Jesse M.
Furman from
Robert Baum,
Tamara Giwa
& Andrew
Dalack dated
August 10,
2021 re:
Letter Motion
In Response to
Court's Order
to File
Financial
Affidavit.
ENDORSEMENT:
The Court is
unpersuaded
that privacy
interests
justify
redacting the
names and
locations of
the corporate
entities in
Paragraphs 14,
15, and 17 of
ECF No.
139-1."
After hours on
August 12,
some
redactions
were removed:
Avenatti's owned
a plane
through
Passport 420
LLC; an
unnamed
"non-family-member
acquaintance"
paid a
NY-based
attorney in
the Nike case,
whose name is
redacted.
Unredacted:
Avenatti owns
stock in
Tyrian Systems
(aka Seek
Thermal) of
Santa Barbara,
CA and
Centurion
Holdings I,
LLC of St.
Louis
Missouri."
Not
to fast. Inner
City Press
research in
the hours
after the
removal of the
improper
redactions found
that Centurion
Holdings I,
LLC is based
in Arnold,
Missouri - and
"received a
PPP loan of
$60,477 in
May, 2020."
That's the
Paycheck
Protection
Program; the
funds came
through the
Central Bank
of St. Louis.
Bigger,
the aka: "Seek
Thermal, Inc
of 6300
Hollister Ave
in Goleta,
California received
a
Coronavirus-related
PPP loan from
the SBA of
$1,365,062.00
in April,
2020." We'll
have more on
this.
August
9, 2021
Haiti Is Sued For $27 Million Non-Payment For Oil, Central Bank Moves to Bar Citibank Answers
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, August 4 – Haiti and its
developement agency are being sued for
non-payment of $27 million worth of delivered
oil, with the Central Bank of Haiti on August 4
moving to intervene.
The
August 4 emergency motion filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York seeks to bar Citibank from responding to
plaintiff Preble-Rish Haiti S.A.'s subpoena and
interrogatories. Inner City Press found the
filing in the SDNY, which it covers daily while
banned by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
from the UN where it asked and asks about the UN
bringing cholera to Haiti.
August
2, 2021
PNC Bank Files Friday Night Request For Subpoena on Dreambuilders in SDNY
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, July 30 – PNC Bank has been
sued for assignment of loan to "Dreambuilder
Investments, LLC which describes itself as "a
mortgage resolution and investment company
bringing liquidity, efficiency and humanity to
distressed markets."
On July 30 PNC filed a request in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New
York for an order empowering a subpoena on
Dreambuilder of 30 Wall Street and its CEO Peter
J Andrews of 55 Liberty Street.
In another Federal case, an order says
"Dreambuilder Investments LLC (“DBI”) is owned
by a series of LLCs, each of which owned by
Andrews and Rockingham Capital."
Inner City Press, which covers the SDNY, found and is immediately reporting on the case. It is In Re Application of PNC Bank, N.A., 21-mc-611 (Unassigned)
***
July
26, 2021
Sterling National Bank Is Sued For China Wires As Webster CRA Protest By Fair Finance Watch
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- CJR -
PFT
SOUTH
BRONX / SDNY, July 13 – The proposed merger of
Webster Financial Corp. and Sterling Bancorp has
been challenged, on disparate lending and
regulatory evasions, first to the Federal
Reserve and the OCC.
On June 25, the Fed asked the banks a series of
questions, below and full letter on Patreon here
Now Inner City Press can report that, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 12, it emerged that Sterling has been sued for allowing the unauthorized wiring to China and Singapore of $12 million in funds from NJ-based contractor Niram. This is an adverse managerial resources factor to be raised to / acted on by the Federal Reserve, including under the new antitrust Executive Order. Watch this site.
There
are also at least two lawsuits have been filed
against the ill-conceived proposed merger. Will
the banks settle those, while doubling down on
their contempt for the Community Reinvestment
Act? The lawsuits:
Elaine
Wang sued Sterling and its directors, including
Fernando Ferrer, for violations of the Security
Exchange Act of 1934. In short order, Alex
Ciccotelli sued them as well, along with
Webster. Inner City Press is following the case.
July
12, 2021
JPMChase Barred Woman From Joint Account After Husband's Death, Judge Says Find Trace
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY
COURTHOUSE, July 9 – Lurline Lewy and her
husband Rudolph had a $104,000 account at JP
Morgan Chase Bank at 596 Fort Washington Avenue
in Manhattan.
Her husband died, and Chase denied her access to
the funds. Now after years are asking she has
sued, and Chase says it's too late.
On June 8, U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein
held a proceeding. Inner City Press covered
it.
Morgan Chase pushed its argument that it is too
late.
Judge
Hellerstein remarked that a bank should be
expected to keep records.
He
denied the motion to dismiss.
On
July 9, Judge Hellerstein held another
proceeding in the case. He said pointedly that
he found it hard to believe there are not traces
of where the money is. He told the parties what
to do before the next conference, which he said
should be on a Friday, "I do it on Fridays." It
is December 10, 2021 at 10 am, along with other
cases.
The case is Lewy v. JP Morgan Chase Bank & Co. et al., 20-cv-10048 (Hellerstein)
***
July
5, 2021
JPM Chase Is Sued After Theft of $453,000 Now Discovery Into Bank's Policies Until Dec 2
By
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK -