PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine publisher who lost about $2.5 million in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal has filed a lawsuit against an investment firm he says funneled his money to Madoff without his knowledge.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Daniel Goldenson and his wife, Suzanne, of Bremen, accuse John “Launny” Steffens and his investment firm, Spring Mountain Capital, of New York, of securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and nine other counts. Spring Mountain’s chief operating officer, Gregory Ho, is also named in the complaint.

Steffens and Ho issued a statement saying the Goldensons’ claims lack merit.

Madoff is now serving 150-year sentence for ripping off thousands of investors for billions of dollars.

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