Secured Over $1.1 Billion Against BMO Harris Bank in Petters Fraud Litigation Related to One of the Biggest Ponzi Schemes in U.S. History

Kelley v. BMO Harris Bank, No. 0:19-cv-01756-WMW (D. Minn)

Fourteen years after FBI agents raided the headquarters of Petters Company Inc. (PCI) and put an end to one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in U.S. history, a federal jury in St. Paul found BMO Harris Bank N.A. liable for aiding and abetting the conspirators’ breach of fiduciary duty.

The jury awarded Plaintiff Douglas Kelley, as trustee for the BMO Litigation Trust, $484 million in compensatory damages and assessed an additional $79.5 million in punitive damages against BMO Harris for its role in facilitating the scheme.

The total represents the largest ever jury award in a Minnesota civil case. On June 23, 2023 the court granted the Plaintiff’s motion for pre- and post-judgment interest, bringing the total amount of the award to over $1 billion. On July 25, 2023, a federal judge in St. Paul denied BMO Harris Bank’s motion waive the bond requirement, ordering the bank to post bond for more than $1.158 billion.