It keeps getting worse for 'The Diva of Distressed' Lynn Tilton
Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale and Hannover Funding Co. filed a lawsuit Monday against Tilton and Patriarch alleging that she used funds that were marketed to investors as debt investment vehicles and instead made risky equity deals that went bust.
The two investors previously filed suit against Tilton in May, seeking about $44 million in damages, but did not specify fraudulent actions.
The SEC separately filed fraud charges against her first, in March. Tilton's case with the SEC has been stayed, thanks to a September decision by an appelate court. It is expected the SEC will be allowed to proceed with the case, according to a person familiar with the case.
The SEC has contacted Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, and an employee from Nord is due to testify against Tilton in the SEC case, according to a copy of the witness list dated August 7, 2015, submitted by the SEC for its case against Tilton.
Hannover, a subsidiary of Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, spent $135 million investing in Tilton's 'Zohar' funds, which ultimately were used to make equity investments in Patriarch portfolio companies, according to the suit.
This, despite "marketing materials provided... for Zohar (Fund) III describ[ing] that fund as 'a collateralized debt obligation managed by Patriarch Partners, a leading CDO manager," according to the suit.
Tilton's representatives denied the suit's allegations.
"Ms. Tilton has personally invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Zohar funds and their portfolio companies," the spokesperson said. "Since its founding in 2000, Patriarch has successfully restructured myriad businesses and has saved hundreds of thousands of jobs."