Cassidy continues investigating Stanford Ponzi scheme

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) this week continued an investigation into the alleged participation of Societe Generale Private Banking (SocGen) in a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors in their home state.

Sen. Cassidy and U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) sent a Feb. 5 letter to the CEO of Societe Generale North America as a follow-up to a July 2019 meeting they conducted concerning litigation filed against SocGen in the Stanford International Bank Receivership scheme.

“Thousands of people lost everything in this scheme,” Sen. Cassidy said. “SocGen’s failure to provide oversight of the Stanford accounts contributed to the victims’ losses. SocGen must make things right for the victims.”

The senators noted in their letter that they have conducted additional research “concerning the veracity of the key representations made by” SocGen counsel during that 2019 meeting, and they wrote that “the results are not encouraging for SocGen.”

For example, the letter criticizes SocGen’s failure to properly monitor Stanford-affiliated bank accounts, which were used to manage the personal assets of the Stanford group’s clientele.

Although SocGen’s counsel stated there was no evidence that it knew about or participated in the Ponzi scheme, a Swiss court concluded that SocGen didn’t act in good faith when it worked with the Stanford International Bank, according to their letter, which also said that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority determined that, in the case of Stanford, SocGen violated its anti-money laundering responsibilities.

“It’s time for SocGen to take responsibility for their role and repay the thousands of victims who lost their life savings in the Stanford Ponzi scheme,” said Sen. Kennedy. “We will not stop hunting down these assets, which rightfully belong to many seniors and hard-working people in Louisiana.”

In the letter, Sen. Cassidy and his colleague formally invited the CEO to speak to them directly “to have a more productive conversation concerning these matters.”