Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson will pay $120 million to settle allegations that it helped a Texas financier operate a Ponzi scheme, according to a
Reuters report.
Willis was accused of helping the now-imprisoned Allen Stanford run the $7.2 billion scheme but the insurance brokerage has denied any wrongdoing. It also said in a regulatory filing that it has set aside reserves to cover the settlement.
Willis was sued by investors and a court-appointed receiver for Allen’s companies. They alleged that the brokerage provided letters touting the credentials of Allen’s Stanford International Bank and describing its insurance policies, according to
Reuters. The lawsuit claimed that Willis did this knowing Stanford would use the letters to convince investors to buy his phony offshore certificates of deposit. The letters, the lawsuit claimed, made investors believe the business was sound.
The settlement is the biggest in the seven and a half years of litigation that has been brought on behalf of about 18,000 former Stanford investors,
Reuters reported. Settlements so far total more than $300 million.
Stanford is currently serving a 110-year prison sentence for the fraud.
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