U.S citizens sue three Lebanese banks, BDL, accusing them of partaking in Ponzi scheme

BEIRUT: Two U.S individuals have filed a lawsuit against three Lebanese commercial banks and the central bank for "being preyed upon by the Ponzi scheme that is the Lebanese banking system."Plaintiffs Joseph A. Daou and his spouse Karen M. Daou filed their lawsuit in New York's Southern District Court against Al Mawarid Bank, BLC Bank, Credit Libanais and Banque Du Liban, according to copies obtained by Annahar. The lawsuit accused the central bank of being "the architect of the Ponzi scheme," preying on the plaintiffs' "hard-earned U.S dollars." What's noteworthy is the nature of the lawsuit, which was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO); INSERT INTO articles (articleId, timestamp, date, title, teaser, slug, status, primaryCategory, description, authorId, sourceId, url, lastUpdate, hasImage, contents, summary) VALUES a federal law designed to combat organized crime in the United States. It allows prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. The lawsuit accuses the banks of refusing to transfer the plaintiffs' deposits to the U.S before "entering into a conspiracy in which they agreed to make fraudulent misrepresentations to Plaintiffs, issue worthless checks to...