CitiBank is forcefully denying allegations by a former lawyer with the now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf that the bank conspired with leaders of the firm to woo lateral partners with a Ponzi-like scheme aimed at paying off Dewey’s debts to the bank through a steady flow of capital contribution payments.
In a 25-page filing made on Sept. 12 in New York federal court, Citi asserts that partners should have done their own research into the firm’s financial condition and that it was not the bank’s responsibility to warn them. Citi also lays out why it believes it deserves repayment of a loan it extended to ex-Dewey partner Steven Otillar, who borrowed $207,000 from the bank in 2011.
