SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An international bank situated in Puerto Rico is facing legal action for fraud, with allegations indicating that the scheme resulted in over $90 million in lost deposits, impacting numerous clients from the U.S., Venezuela, and other regions.

Legal representatives have confirmed that Juan Francisco Ramírez, one of the bank’s owners, was alerted this week about the lawsuit that was filed on February 6 in a federal court in South Florida.

Lawyers mentioned on Tuesday that they plan to inform the other co-owner, Tomás Niembro Concha, in the coming days.

Marta Colomar García, an attorney with the Miami-based Diaz Reus international law firm, which is representing Driven, the trustee overseeing the bank’s liquidation, expressed concern stating, “There are depositors who have placed their life savings in this bank, as well as individuals who depended on these funds for vital medical needs like dialysis, and now they find themselves unable to access their money.”

Attorneys for Ramírez and Niembro, who is thought to be residing in Spain, could not be reached for immediate comments regarding the lawsuit.

Niembro, who hails from Venezuela, held a 60% ownership stake in Nodus International Bank and acted as its president, while Ramírez owned 40% and served as the chairman of the board per the lawsuit’s claims. Their wives have also been named among those facing accusations.

The complaint alleges, “Funds deposited by clients were treated as if they were the personal assets of the two owners.”

Nodus International Bank was granted a license to operate in Puerto Rico in 2009 and began its services a year later. However, by February 2012, the island’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions initiated an investigation due to discovered violations of anti-money laundering laws, among other concerns noted in the lawsuit.

In October 2017, the same office reported “serious financial and managerial deficiencies,” and by March 2023, they presented Nodus with options for voluntary liquidation following “numerous claims from depositors” who reported that their requests for fund transfers, which totaled in the millions, were being denied.

Later in October 2023, the Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions took further action by appointing a receiver and revoking Nodus’s license.

The trustee, Driven, has indicated that Nodus has an outstanding debt of around $92 million towards its clients, with a staggering 95% of its loan portfolio lacking any form of collateral.

The ongoing lawsuit highlights $28.5 million of the total deficit attributed to two alleged fraudulent schemes.

In one of these schemes, the bank owners reportedly “granted themselves millions of dollars in personal loans.” According to the lawsuit, while the average personal loan extended was around $14,000 to roughly 500 clients, debts amounting to $2.3 million from Ramírez and $341,000 from Niembro remain unpaid.

The lawsuit is aiming for a jury trial to address these allegations.