The 81-year-old plaintiff at the center of a $35 million elder fraud suit against Northern Trust is asking the court to expedite the suit due to her age and declining health.
Northern Trust was hit on Jan. 28 with an elder financial abuse lawsuit seeking at least $35 million in damages, claiming that its former vice president, Christopher Walters, stole millions over a 10-year period from a $20 million legacy trust.
The plaintiff, Elizabeth Madden, is a trust beneficiary whose family founded Security Trust Co., which was acquired by Northern Trust in 1971.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges unauthorized transfers and credit card payments over more than a decade. It alleges that Walters, a former personal trainer, exploited "Northern Trust's ill-conceived process for seeking approval for disbursements," raiding the trust to fund his failed gym and to pay credit card debts.
Madden individually and as co-trustee of the Elizabeth Ludwig Madden Revocable Trust asked the court the same day to hear the case by Aug. 3.
"This case is not merely a dispute over money," the filing states. "It is a case about time — and the very real risk that justice will arrive too late. Mrs. Madden is 81 years old. She now finds herself in the final chapter of her life confronting declining health, diminished mobility, and the daily physical and emotional strain that accompanies advanced age."
Madden struggles to walk after a recent knee surgery and is "deeply involved" in the care of her husband at a skilled nursing facility, the filing states.
If the litigation "proceeds on a standard track, there is a substantial risk that Mrs. Madden will be deprived of the opportunity to personally participate in trial or see the resolution of her claims during her lifetime," according to the filing.
Northern Trust, entrusted with "Madden's life savings, failed her in the most fundamental way," the filing continues, stating that "Northern Trust allowed millions of dollars to be misappropriated" from Madden's legacy trust.
Northern Trust told ThinkAdvisor in a statement that it "tendered payment to the impacted clients for the full amount of the stolen funds, plus associated lost opportunity costs."
Northern Trust sued Walters in August, alleging "blatant fraud." Walters "was separated from his employment" in November 2024, before the scheme came to light, according to the suit.
Elizabeth Madden. Courtesy photo
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