FL Lawyer Accused of Hiding Bank Losses
A former partner at Miami-based Greenberg Traurig goes before an administrative judge today to contest allegations that he suppressed material evidence to hide $20 million in losses for a bank client.
The Office of Comptroller of the Currency is seeking a cease-and-desist order against Carlos Loumiet that would prevent him from giving legal advice to federally financed banks, the Daily Business Review reports.
The agency claims it was a conflict for Loumiet and his law firm to agree to provide an independent study of suspect transactions for the board of Hamilton Bank since the firm had also served as the bank’s outside counsel. After the study was completed, bank officers hired Greenberg Traurig to perform more than $1 million in legal work, the OCC says.
Greenberg Traurig and another partner, Robert Grossman, paid $925,000 to settle the agency’s allegations without admitting fault. The OCC closed the bank and the bank’s CEO was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Loumiet, now with Hunton & Williams, says he is being targeted because he blamed the OCC for lax supervision of the bank’s transactions.
