Lehman hit by $355 million fraud: source

NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was fleeced out of more than $355 million in a fraud the U.S. investment bank believes was perpetrated by two employees at Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. (8002.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), according to a person briefed on the matter.

The fraud may have hit other financial institutions as well, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

If Lehman's arguments are true, the scamsters perpetrated one of the more sophisticated corporate con jobs since Enron set up a fake trading floor to impress analysts. Lehman believes the scam included forged documents and an imposter.

Lehman is trying to recover a loan to a fund headed by Asclepius Ltd -- a now-bankrupt unit of LTT Bio-Pharma Co (4566.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Lehman had believed the money, supposedly to be used to finance medical leases, was backed by Marubeni.

The bank believes Marubeni is now shirking its obligations to pay back the partnership between Lehman, Marubeni and the fund, the person told Reuters.

Marubeni, which fired the two employees on March 10, said the two employees may have been manipulated by the former president of Asclepius, that Marubeni had not approved the leases and that police are working on the case.

The employees were contractors, spokesman Hirokazu Iwashima said, adding that there was "no involvement by Marubeni as a company."

Lehman plans to sue Marubeni, spokesmen in Tokyo and New York said. They declined to say how much money it had put into the business or elaborate on what exactly the former Marubeni employees did.

"We are confident in our legal claim which we will pursue until we receive repayment from Marubeni," said Matthew Russell, Lehman Brothers head of Corporate Communications, Asia-Pacific, in a statement sent to Reuters.