A 92-year-old customer at American Savings Bank settled her lawsuit against the bank for what is "believed to be more than $1 million," according to a recent court filing.

Moanalua resident Ada Lim and American Savings reached an out-of-court settlement Sept. 18 on Lim's lawsuit, which alleged that an operations supervisor at the bank's Hawai'i Kai branch took more than $600,000 from Lim.

Lim's Aug. 2 suit also charged that the bank helped cover up the alleged fraud.

The terms of the settlement were confidential but attorneys for the bank's former security director, Bert Corniel, said they believed that the settlement figure is more than $1 million.

Corniel also sued American Savings on Aug. 2, saying the bank retaliated against him when he reported fraud cases to federal authorities.

"The litigation filed by Mrs. Lim ... was settled by the bank within two months of filing for an undisclosed sum, believed to be in excess of $1 million," Corniel's lawyers John Perkin and Brandee Faria said in the filing.

American Savings spokeswoman Dawn Dunbar declined comment, citing the pending litigation.

Constance Lau, the bank's chief executive officer, said in a written statement on Aug. 16 that the "bank did not in any way, shape or form cover up anything."

The bank fired the employee, Marilyn De Motta, in February 2005 after it conducted an in-house investigation. De Motta, who has denied wrongdoing, worked as an operations supervisor in the Hawai'i Kai branch.

Lim's attorney Lyle Hosoda had no comment when asked about the settlement figure. He said the terms of settlement are subject to a confidentiality agreement.

Perkin would not say how he obtained the settlement number.

News of the substantial settlement comes as a federal grand jury has opened an investigation into the alleged fraud and the bank's handling of the case.

The audit committee of the Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. board also is investigating the matter. HEI is the parent company of American Savings.

Founded in 1925, American Savings is the state's third largest financial institution with $6.9 billion in assets, 64 branches and about 1,400 employees.

The size of Lim's settlement is significant, according to one legal expert.

"That is a terrific settlement," said Neal Seamon, editor of Personal Injury Judgments Hawaii, a monthly publication that keeps track of local court judgments. "The bank obviously wanted to avoid any publicity."

The settlement figure was one of several disclosures in Corniel's filing, a pretrial statement that lays out what Corniel's attorneys have discovered by subpoenaing company records and interviewing bank employees and other witnesses.

American Savings has 60 days to file its response. The trial date for the lawsuit has not been scheduled.

In their filing, Corniel's lawyers alleged the bank tried to cover up fraud cases in its reports to federal and state authorities.

They said Corniel initially reported the Lim case to the U.S. Treasury Department as fraud. But the company later amended his report, known as a suspicious activity report, to say that Lim had given De Motta a loan, according to Corniel's lawyers.

Suspicious activity reports are required of all banks, stock brokerages and casinos when they suspect fraud, money laundering or any other illicit activity involving $5,000 or more. Filing a false suspicious activity report could result in criminal prosecution and fines.

In a videotaped deposition made last month, Lim said she never loaned money to De Motta. Lim also said she allowed De Motta to handle her finances because De Motta worked for American Savings.

Lim also recounted a February 2005 meeting in which several American Savings employees appeared at her home with a bouquet of flowers, cookies, mochi crunch and other gifts.

American Savings said, in court filings in August, that the employees, including a company notary, were there to verify whether loan documents that De Motta presented to them were signed by Lim.

In her deposition, Lim said that she wasn't aware the people visiting her that day were bank employees. She also said she couldn't remember whether the workers showed her any loan documents.

"I thought it was more like a party," Lim said.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.