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