Greenberg Gives Testimony in Fraud Lawsuit Brought by NY Attorney General
Maurice "Hank'' Greenberg, American International Group Inc.'s former chief executive officer, may have settled the Louisiana pension fund lawsuit on Thursday, but he spent the day in a Manhattan courthouse giving testimony in a separate case involving a New York lawsuit over an alleged multi-billion dollar fraud at the company.
Greenberg's deposition was postponed twice amid settlement talks with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Greenberg spokesman Glen Rochkind last week denied reports that a $100 million settlement was under discussion.
"There is no consideration being given to and no discussions concerning Mr. Greenberg paying $100 million in damages or fines,'' Rochkind said. Greenberg and his lawyer, David Boies, declined to comment today at the courthouse.
Greenberg and Howard Smith, a former AIG chief financial officer whose deposition last month also was postponed, allegedly used sham transactions to hide losses and inflate reserves at the company, the largest U.S. insurer by assets, the state said in its complaint. Greenberg ran New York-based AIG for 38 years until he was forced to retire in 2005, two months before then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued him.
In a separate case, Greenberg and three other former AIG executives agreed to pay $115 million to settle claims the insurer overpaid by $1 billion a company he controlled, an investors' lawyer said today. Insurance will cover 75 percent of the settlement, plaintiffs' lawyers said.
Published on September 12, 2008
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