Former American International Group (NYSE: AIG) CEO Hank Greenberg has received a Wells Notice from the SEC, indicating that the commission may file civil charges against him. The lawsuit, if filed, would center around fraudulent transactions the company conducted with General Re in an effort to artificially inflate its earnings.
Greenberg's lawyer said in a statement that the Wells Notice "is a step in the process....We remain confident of our position on the merits, and we believe that none of the remaining issues are material to AIG's financial statements. When the commission has had the opportunity to consider all the facts, we believe that they will agree."
A lawsuit from the SEC involving securities fraud would likely make Greenberg's efforts to exert more influence over the company he ran for more than 30 years difficult. He has been increasingly critical of AIG's management in recent months.
Our own Doug McIntyre recently commented that Greenberg is fooling himself if he thinks he's the company's savior. Referring to the company's first quarter loss of $7.8 billion, he wrote that "Greenberg dreams that things would have been different if he had stayed as CEO, but it is only a dream that he cannot support with any reality."
Former AIG head may face SEC charges
Related Posts
- Newspaper wrap-up: Lockheed expected to win $1.8B contract for navigation satellites (57 days ago - 0 Comments)
- Newspaper wrap-up: Citigroup may have to repay some hedge fund losses (50 days ago - 1 Comments)
- AIG's former CEO tries to get another foot in the door (57 days ago - 0 Comments)
- AIG: How to lose $7.8 billion (61 days ago - 2 Comments)
- AIG trade idea following downgrade (72 days ago - 2 Comments)
Add your comments
Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.
When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.
Before the bell: Futures lower as oil rises, despite Alcoa earnings
Alcoa's Q2 2008 earnings transcript
Sir John Templeton, best contrarian investor of the 20th Century, dies at 95
