Judge OKs Settlement Related to Slatkin Case

A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles approved a $26.5-million settlement of an investors’ lawsuit that accused Reed Slatkin’s former bankers of lending an aura of legitimacy to the Santa Barbara money manager while he ran a huge fraud.

Judge Margaret Morrow, who sentenced Slatkin last year to 14 years in prison, said the settlement was reasonable. It was reached in September with Union Bank of California, Bank of Orange County, Imperial Management Inc. and Mary Catherine Leider, a former Imperial employee, none of whom admitted wrongdoing.