Is Lehman a fraud victim?
According to a Wall Street Journal story, U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. appears to have been a victim of a fraud in which swindlers used forged documents from one of Japan's biggest trading companies to bilk it out of as much as $350 million.
Late last year, a unit of the New York-based investment bank issued loans to a fund run by a medical consulting company owned by LTT Bio-Pharma Co., a Japanese biotechnology company. The funds, which were to be used to help provide trade financing for hospitals buying medical equipment, were secured with certificates from Marubeni Corp., one of Japan's biggest trading firms.
Lehman grew concerned at the end of February when its funds were not repaid, according to a person familiar with the situation. The LTT Bio-Pharma subsidiary filed for bankruptcy protection on March 19.