REFILE-UPDATE 1-US files fraud charges against ex-Refco lawyer

(Refiles to correct literal in third paragraph; Adds details of new charges, changes dateline to New York)

NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - An ex lawyer for collapsed commodities broker Refco Finance Holdings LLC [RFXCQF.UL] was indicted on additional charges on Thursday for efforts to fraudulently obtain hundreds of millions in revolving lines of credit from a group of banks, U.S. prosecutors said.

They said Joseph Collins, 58, of Winnetka, Illinois, as its longtime outside counsel, helped Refco management conceal from The Chase Manhattan Bank and its successor JPMorgan Chase Bank [JPMBNY.UL] various loan transactions.

"Collins played an important role in the fraud," the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said of an investigation involving its fraud task force and the United States Postal Inspection Service.

It said in a statement that Collins aided the fraud by, "knowingly making affirmative misrepresentations, participating in material omissions, and telling deceptive half-truths in order to assist former chief executive officer Phillip Bennett ... to steal more than $2.4 billion from potential investors and lenders."

The New York law office representing Collins could not immediately be reached for comment.

Bennett is serving a 16-year sentence for fraud. He pleaded guilty in February to 20 criminal counts related to the $2.4 billion fraud that led to Refco's collapse. Bennett owned 50 percent of Refco, which was a global trading empire until it unraveled in 2005.

Collins was charged in an 11-count indictment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan last December. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include conspiracy and securities fraud. His trial was scheduled for April next year.

Prosecutors said the so-called "round trip loan transactions" between 2000 and 2003 "concealed the size of Refco's related-party debt in that they made it appear the debt owed by Bennett's company was significantly smaller than it really was."

The fraud led to Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. to buy a majority interest in Refco through a $1.9 billion leveraged buyout in August 2004 after being deceived about the true financial health of the business, prosecutors said.

They said Collins also helped Refco management conduct an initial public offering of its stock based on false statements about the company's health. The fraud was discovered within months and Refco went bankrupt, its stock listing removed from the New York Stock Exchange.

Former president Tone Grant is serving a 10 year prison term for his role in the fraud that involved hiding huge trading losses from clients. (Reporting by Grant McCool and Gina Keating; Editing by Andre Grenon)