Umpqua Bank to Pay $55 Million to Settle Ponzi Scheme Aid Suit

Umpqua Bank has agreed to pay victims of a Ponzi-like real estate scheme $55 million in settlement, avoiding retrial on claims it aided and abetted the fraud, according to a federal court filing.

The class settlement warrants preliminary approval, the plaintiffs told the US District Court for the Northern District of California on May 2.

• Shela Camenisch and others who invested money with Novato, Calif.-based Professional Financial Investors Inc. and a related company brought the suit against PFI’s bank, Umpqua, to recover funds they say they lost in the $300 million fraud
• The court oversaw a trial that resulted in ...