PNC Free of Ponzi Aid Claims, Heartland Must Face Investor Suit

PNC Bank NA defeated claims in a would-be class suit accusing it of aiding a $75 million Ponzi scheme, but investors who lost money to the scam can pursue similar claims against Heartland Bank & Trust Co., a federal judge in Illinois said.

Investors blamed the banks for the scheme allegedly perpetrated by former depositor Kenneth Courtright through his company Today’s Growth Consultant Inc. Their allegations don’t support an inference that PNC had actual knowledge or acted in bad faith, but they successfully “alleged bases to hold Heartland liable,” the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said ...