Lehman has been conned out of more than $355 million in a sophisticated scam operation. The scam seems to have been masterminded by two employees at the Japanese trading house Marubeni Corporation. Marubeni is Japan's fifth biggest trading company.
Lehman had advanced a loan through Marubeni to a medical company called Asclepius Ltd., a now bankrupt unit of LTT Bio-Pharma Co. The money was to be used to finance medical leases and was supposedly guaranteed by Marubeni. Marubeni claims that the documents with Lehman are forged.Before advancing the money, Lehman asked to meet the Marubeni general manager involved. The man they met now appears to have been an impostor.Marubeni has fired two employees who it says might have been manipulated by the former president of Asclepius. 'We are confident in our legal claim, which we will pursue until we receive re-payment from Marubeni,' said Matthew Russell, a spokesman for Lehman.
This disclosure could not have come at a worse time for Lehman. There have been rumors for several weeks that Lehman may have problems similar to Bear Stearns.Customers may get worried about Lehman's financial health, and if they withdraw large sums of money, Lehman could face liquidity problems.
Meanwhile Marubeni in a statement said:' We have nothing to do with the fraudulent acts, and we have no obligation to cover any re-payment requests.'