The U.S. Department of Justice on Feb. 16 filed a lawsuit in a California court seeking to seize the funds of hundreds of Chinese nationals who held illegal U.S. bank accounts obtained through a criminal ring. As Beijing tightens the limit on capital leaving the country, many Chinese nationals seek other channels to move funds overseas. For at least three years, a group of criminals have targeted Chinese nationals by offering fraudulently-opened bank accounts at Bank of America (BofA), according to the court filing (pdf). The criminals consist of a ring of corrupted BofA employees and agents based in California, it said. These acts provided hundreds of unknown or unverified individuals or organizations with virtually-unfettered access to the U.S. financial system. The funds are currently being held by the U.S. Marshals Service pending the resolution of the suit. The laws in China place certain limitations on the amount of currency …