Gene MaddausSen. Dianne Feinstein filed a lawsuit today against Kinde Durkee, alleging that the disgraced treasurer took millions from her campaign accounts.
Feinstein also sued First California Bank, alleging that bank officials intentionally overlooked red flags because they wanted to keep Durkee's lucrative business.
The lawsuit (posted below) is the first solid confirmation that Feinstein was victimized in the Durkee scandal.
“Over the course of the past year, Durkee — with the substantial assistance of her co-defendants — has used the Feinstein Committees' money to cover her personal and business expenses,” the suit alleges.
The suit claims that $2 million is missing from Feinstein's Senate account — though it is unclear if the total losses are greater. The complaint lists numerous unauthorized transfers. Update: Bill Carrick, Feinstein's consultant, says there are $13 million in unauthorized transfers into and out of Feinstein's accounts.
Feinstein also claims that Durkee would not have been able to get away with it were it not for the cooperation of First California Bank, where she maintained her accounts.
“Durkee ensured the branch's cooperation by lavishing the bank with profits,” the suit alleges.
First California Bank allegedly overlooked numerous red flags, any of which would have led to the exposure of fraudulent behavior much earlier. For instance, the suit claims that Durkee overdrew Feinstein's accounts 68 times in one year — incurring overdraft fees each time.
“Durkee so thoroughly and rapidly depleted her clients' funds that she constantly had to shuffle clients' money between accounts in order to prevent checks from bouncing,” the suit claims.
Durkee is scheduled to appear in federal court in Sacramento next month to answer a charge of mail fraud.
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