A New York man is suing Fiserv Inc. and TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., claiming they mishandled his retirement accounts and invested them with Bernard Madoff, who has admitted to running a massive Ponzi scheme.
Eric Weinstein said in a 33-page complaint filed last week in federal court in Denver that Fiserv and Fiserv Trust Co., a unit that TD Ameritrade acquired last year, failed to safeguard his assets.
"This case is about the protection and safety of plaintiffs' retirement accounts that, by definition, hold irreplaceable money that is available after individuals retire," the complaint said.
Weinstein seeks to include in the case 800 investors he alleges lost $1 billion from their pensions and individual retirement accounts.
"Plaintiffs did not realize that their designated custodian had turned actual custody of their pension and IRAs over to Madoff's firm," Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, the complaint said.
Fiserv spokeswoman Judy Wicks said by e-mail that the Brookfield, Wis., firm "intends to vigorously defend against the assertions contained in the complaints, which have no merit whatsoever."
Kim Hillyer, a spokeswoman for TD Ameritrade, of Omaha, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Toronto-Dominion Bank owns a minority stake in TD Ameritrade.
