Lawsuit filed against AMEX, government in Miami

Lawsuit filed against AMEX, government in Miami
9/19/2009, 3:29 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press

(AP) — MIAMI - A Miami banker is suing American Express-his former employer-and the Justice Department, saying they tarnished his name.
Sergio Masvidal claims in a lawsuit filed Friday that the credit card company and the government partnered in an illegal conspiracy at the same time that American Express was prosecuted for violating anti-money-laundering reporting laws.
He told The Miami Herald that he has evidence of a "secret termination agreement" from Aug. 2007 between his ex-employer and the Justice Department that said he would be fired after the sale of the bank or a year after the agreement. His lawyer told The Associated Press on Saturday that Masvidal found out about the letter a month later, but continued to work with the company until leaving at the end of February 2008 when the bank was sold.
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American Express "threw him under the bus to keep the feds happy and protect themselves. They made him a scapegoat," said attorney Joseph DeMaria.
Phone messages left by The Associated Press on Saturday with American Express and the Justice Department were not immediately returned.
Masvidal says the Justice Department agreed to drop criminal charges against American Express if the international bank strengthened its policies and enforcement against money laundering.
However, he says the secret agreement also called for his firing and made him appear to be an unindicted co-conspirator. He says the agreement placed blame for the lax policies on him and ruined his career. He is seeking $7.5 million in punitive damages from the company.
Masvidal, a 63-year-old former chairman of American Express Bank International, earned an average of $1 million a year. His lawyer said they were not seeking damages from the government, but only to have Masvidal's name cleared.
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