Alleged RI Ponzi Schemer's Case Expands - 18 File Lawsuit Against TD Bank

Alleged RI Ponzi Schemer's Case Expands - 18 File Lawsuit Against TD Bank

A new federal lawsuit is expanding the legal actions relating to the case of the alleged actions involving Rhode Island native and former U.S. Marine Christopher Aubin.

Aubin, the Lincoln-native, allegedly stole millions from investors. Often using his record as a Marine to gain investors' confidence.

The entire scheme was unveiled by GoLocalProv in an investigative report published in September of 2024. Since then, GoLocal has uncovered much more - see related stories below.

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Aubin, his then girlfriend, his companies, and one of his associates have been sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

And GoLocal revealed that the Department of Justice is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation.

Now comes the lawsuit by Aubin’s alleged victims.

The new lawsuit, filed in federal court in Rhode Island on Friday, alleges:

This action arises out of TD Bank knowing and substantial assistance in a multi-million-dollar Ponzi scheme orchestrated by  Aubin and his companies. For approximately two years, Aubin solicited investments from dozens of individuals across multiple states, promising above-market returns purportedly derived from legitimate investments in real estate. In truth, Aubin used later-investor funds to pay earlier investors and to finance his own, and his girlfriend’s, Ashley Corcoran’s, lavish lifestyle. Aubin is now under state and federal criminal investigation (including the IRS) and is a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission in Massachusetts. TD Bank was not an innocent bystander. TD Bank provided the bank accounts and financial infrastructure essential to perpetuating the fraud, ignored blatant red flags, and profited from the very transactions that sustained the Ponzi scheme. The Plaintiffs seek to recover damages suffered as a result of TD Bank’s participation in, and facilitation of, Aubin’s fraudulent scheme.

 

Central to the alleged victim’s claim is:

TD Bank Did Not Follow Much, If Any, Of TD Bank’s Know Your Customer (“KYC”) Protocols and Knowingly Assisted Aubin’s Ponzi Scheme. KYC bank protocols are mandatory procedures for financial institutions, such as TD Bank, to verify client identities and assess risks (like money laundering, fraud, terrorism financing) by collecting information for customers including, but not limited to name, date of birth, identification and address, checking against watchlists, and continuously monitoring activity, ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering laws through stages like Customer Identification Programs, Due Diligence and Suspicious Activity Reporting.

 

 

The lawsuit adds:

“Aubin and Corcoran are dating. The social media posts of Aubin and Corcoran show that while ASI was writing hundreds of thousands of dollars of bad checks to its investors, Aubin and Corcoran were flying on private jets or in helicopters, buying luxury automobiles and eating in high-end expensive restaurants. It is apparent that Aubin and Corcoran used the investors’ money to fund their lavish lifestyle. Even after being notified that the investors are now aware of the fraud being perpetrated upon them, Corcoran posted her expensive meal from a lavish Boston restaurant.”

 

The lawsuit alleges TD Bank is guilty of:

 

COUNT I — AIDING AND ABETTING FRAUD

 

COUNT II — NEGLIGENCE AND NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION

 

COUNT III — CIVIL CONSPIRACY

 

 

The lawsuit cites example after example of failures by TD Bank:

 

Specifically, TD Bank--with any due diligence--would have learned the following:

 

In December of 2021, a little more than a year before Aubin opened a personal account at TD Bank, Bank of America sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

In July of 2022, eight months before Aubin opened a personal account at TD Bank, a customer of Aubin sued him for failing to return a deposit.

 

In February of 2023, only one month before Aubin opened a personal account at TD Bank, Synchrony Bank sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

In May of 2023, only three months before Aubin opened ASI’s business account at TD Bank (and while he was a personal banking customer of TD Bank) Citibank sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

One day before Aubin opened ASI’s business account at TD Bank, on August 16, 2023, Navy Federal Credit Union sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

Thirteen days after opening ASI’s TD Bank account, on August 30, 2023, Aubin was sued by his lawyers for failing to pay his legal bills. Case 1:26-cv-00117-MSM-PAS Document 1 Filed 02/27/26 

 

Eighteen days later, on September 18, 2023, Discover Bank sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

Less than two months after opening ASI’s TD Bank account, Aubin was sued by a former business partner for forging lending documents.

 

Thus, prior to, and while, Aubin and ASI were TD Bank customers, five separate banking institutions sued Aubin for failing to pay his debts.

 

TD Bank knew that in March of 2023, prior to Aubin starting ASI, he was a personal customer of TD Bank with very low account balances historically that, on several occasions, were in the negative.

 

TD Bank knew that after Aubin started ASI, and opened ASI’s business bank account at TD Bank, that ASI’s TD Bank account suddenly was receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in wires from various individuals and businesses. TD Bank also knew that hundreds of thousands of dollars were being transferred from ASI’s business account to Aubin’s personal account.

 

TD Bank knew that between May of 2023 and May of 2024, ASI received millions of dollars in wires. And, also within that one year, Aubin and ASI went completely broke and bounced hundreds of thousands of dollars in checks. 

 

TD Bank was served with lawsuits, bank account attachments and subpoenas in connection with Aubin’s Ponzi scheme and still did not freeze his personal account or ASI’s business account.