State Sues Reserve Funds for Fraud

The suit further states that Reserve falsely told investors that Reserve Management would support the NAV of the Primary Fund “to whatever degree is required” and that Reserve Management was entering into a capital support agreement to prop up the NAV of the Primary Fund and that the paperwork for the capital support agreement had been submitted to the SEC and was awaiting final sign-off. Reserve also falsely stated that Reserve Management (and the trustees of the Primary Fund) were still valuing the Lehman paper held in the Primary Fund at par, even after they had decided to value it at below par, the complaint states. Finally, Reserve Management stated that the reason the redemptions were not occurring was due to an operations issue at State Street (Reserve Management’s custodial bank), not because of any liquidity issues with respect to Reserve itself, the complaint says.

The complaint was filed against Reserve Management Company, Reserve Funds Trust, Reserve Partners, Inc., and Bruce Bent II, son of the Reserve’s founder and chairman, Bruce R. Bent.