Farmers Sue Corzine Over MF Global Mess

Former New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine has probably not had a single good day since the collapse of MF Global, the commodities brokerage firm that he led through both its meteoric rise and spectacular failure, which resulted in more than a billion dollars just plain vanishing into thin air. In the latest chapter of the sturm und drang that has become his life, Corzine is now being sued by about 38,000 wheat farmers , cattle ranchers and other agricultural players who, over the years, placed millions with MF Global as a hedge against commodity fluctuations, believing such actions to be safe and secure, according to ABC News. The plaintiffs, united in a class action lawsuit, said that Corzine made reckless and risky decisions in order to grow MF Global to Goldman Sachsian proportions, decisions that were ultimately the source of the brokerage firm’s downfall. Whatever gains that were made by the company under Corzine, alleges the plaintiffs, were made not through sound business but through the former governor’s political lobbying, as well as improper accounting.

Also named a defendant was JP Morgan Chase, who was acting as MF Global’s clearing broker and custodian, with the suit claiming that it had aided and abetted fraud through failing to detect suspicious activity, according to Bloomberg.