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Credit Suisse sued for $24 billion over resorts
4 Jan 2010, 1839 hrs REUTERS
NEW YORK: Credit Suisse Group AG has been sued for $24 billion by property owners who said the Swiss bank schemed to defraud investors in several resort communities, including the bankrupted Yellowstone Club.
In a lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in Idaho, the plaintiffs said Credit Suisse colluded with real estate firm and co-defendant Cushman & Wakefield in a "loan to own" scheme to artificially inflate the value of resort projects.
It said this scheme was designed to burden resorts and purchasers of property in resorts with too much debt, while winning Credit Suisse "enormous fees" and letting the bank foreclose on or take control of resorts at well below market value.
"The scheme has been a financial heist for Credit Suisse with no risk," the 81-page complaint said. A Credit Suisse representative in Zurich declined immediate comment. Cushman & Wakefield did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The lawsuit alleges losses related to Yellowstone, a private club for millionaires in Montana, as well as to Lake Las Vegas in Nevada, the Tamarack resort in Idaho, and Ginn Sur Mer on Grand Bahama Island.
One of the plaintiffs is Beau Blixseth, who said he lost money and the use of his property rights in Yellowstone. Beau Blixseth is a son of Timothy Blixseth, a timber baron and onetime billionaire who developed Yellowstone. The lawsuit seeks class-action status for purchasers of property and homes in the developments. It seeks $8 billion of actual damages and $16 billion of punitive damages. The case is Gibson et al v. Credit Suisse AG et al, U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, No. 10-00001.
4 Jan 2010, 1839 hrs REUTERS
NEW YORK: Credit Suisse Group AG has been sued for $24 billion by property owners who said the Swiss bank schemed to defraud investors in several resort communities, including the bankrupted Yellowstone Club.
In a lawsuit filed Sunday in federal court in Idaho, the plaintiffs said Credit Suisse colluded with real estate firm and co-defendant Cushman & Wakefield in a "loan to own" scheme to artificially inflate the value of resort projects.
It said this scheme was designed to burden resorts and purchasers of property in resorts with too much debt, while winning Credit Suisse "enormous fees" and letting the bank foreclose on or take control of resorts at well below market value.
"The scheme has been a financial heist for Credit Suisse with no risk," the 81-page complaint said. A Credit Suisse representative in Zurich declined immediate comment. Cushman & Wakefield did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The lawsuit alleges losses related to Yellowstone, a private club for millionaires in Montana, as well as to Lake Las Vegas in Nevada, the Tamarack resort in Idaho, and Ginn Sur Mer on Grand Bahama Island.
One of the plaintiffs is Beau Blixseth, who said he lost money and the use of his property rights in Yellowstone. Beau Blixseth is a son of Timothy Blixseth, a timber baron and onetime billionaire who developed Yellowstone. The lawsuit seeks class-action status for purchasers of property and homes in the developments. It seeks $8 billion of actual damages and $16 billion of punitive damages. The case is Gibson et al v. Credit Suisse AG et al, U.S. District Court, District of Idaho, No. 10-00001.
