* Five executives convicted in 2008, overturned in 2011
* New trial set for January 2013
* All five will pay fines, have charges dismissed
June 22 (Reuters) – Five former executives of American
International Group Inc and Berkshire Hathaway Inc
unit Gen Re admitted to conducting a fraudulent
reinsurance transaction on Friday as part of a deal to end a
years-long criminal case against them.
All five entered into deferred prosecution agreements,
meaning their indictments will be dismissed in a year if they
stay out of trouble. They also agreed to fines ranging from
$100,000 to $250,000.
The deal brings to an end a high-profile case that has
worked its way through the courts since May 2006.
In 2008, former Gen Re Chief Executive Ronald Ferguson,
Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Monrad, Senior Vice President
Christopher Garand and Assistant General Counsel Robert Graham,
as well as AIG Vice President Christian Milton, were convicted
of engineering a reinsurance deal to fraudulently boost AIG’s
reserves.
In August 2011, a federal appeals court threw out the
convictions and ordered a new trial, citing errors by the judge
in the case. The five had been sentenced to anywhere from one to
four years in prison, though they were all out on bail, pending
their appeals.
Last February, a new judge overseeing the case set a January
2013 date for their retrial.
As part of the deal, all five agreed to recognize “that
aspects of the (reinsurance) transaction were fraudulent,” that
there were signs it would be improperly accounted for and that
they each should have taken steps to stop it.
In the court filings, the government said it had taken into
consideration the cost of a retrial and the fact that the
conduct at issue happened more than 12 years ago, when deciding
to enter into the agreements.
The case is U.S. vs. Ferguson et al, U.S. District Court,
District of Connecticut, No. 06-00137.
