There was a time at the end of 2015 when Carlos Legaspy, founder of the Chicago-based brokerage InSight Securities, was pitching hard to win a chunk of custodial business as Raymond James exited the Latin American market. “I was the most aggressive on pricing, it was a really thin margin,” he said. “For better or worse, I won it.”
The operating words might have been “for worse,” as the piece of business was Biscayne Capital, based in Miami, and the chunk was $700 million—$155 million of which would eventually be revealed to be an alleged private placement Ponzi scheme that nearly destroyed Legaspy’s firm. What ensued for him was $40 million worth of lawsuits as victimized clients sought justice, even though InSight had neither recommended nor sold the notes but was merely the custodian.
According to Legaspy, his battles are almost over, as he said he has just one final lawsuit to resolve, but the Biscayne case grinds on. Last September, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged three of the firm’s former officers with conspiring to defraud investors and financial institutions. They were Roberto Gustavo Cortes Ripalda, arrested in Spain; Fernando Haberer Bergson, arrested in Argentina; and Ernesto Heraclito Weisson Pazmino, arrested in Florida.
“As alleged, the defendants…
