HealthSouth wins $100M settlement Oct 25, 2008
HealthSouth claimed UBS allowed the accounting fraud perpetrated during the Richard Scrushy-era to continue. The settlement also forgives a previous $33 million judgment in favor of UBS over HealthSouth. (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)
HealthSouth, UBS settle lawsuit Oct 24, 2008
UBS representatives attended several HealthSouth board meetings during the time of the accounting fraud and UBS managed stock and bond offerings for HealthSouth during that period. UBS has denied any knowledge that fraudulent activity was taking place. (AL.com)
HealthSouth CEO: Timing was right Oct 23, 2008
7 billion accounting fraud scandal. The acquisition excesses of the Richard Scrushy administration in the 1990s saddled Healthsouth with crushing debt, Grinney said during a Tuesday presentation sponsored by the. (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)
Peavy wants full no-trade powers: Oct 22, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- Two years ago, San Diego Padres owner John Moores' software company, Peregrine Systems Inc., imploded in a massive accounting fraud, resulting in the convictions of a former chief financial officer and two other executives. Since then, Moores has emerged as a powerful player in the city's 5-year-old downtown construction boom, led most famously by the Padres' new Petco Park. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Sports)
City approves tax rebates for Trinity Oct 22, 2008
The Digital Hospital project was abandoned in the wake of HealthSouth s accounting fraud scandal that surfaced under former CEO Richard Scrushy. Reader Comments. (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)
Microsoft's FAST unit probed over accounting Oct 18, 2008
Microsoft's recently acquired Fast Search & Transfer was charged on Thursday with accounting fraud by Norwegian officials, Reuters reported Thursday. According to the , police raided Fast's offices in Oslo in order to preserve evidence. (CNET News)
Feds investigate Washington Mutual failure Oct 17, 2008
In January, the FBI announced that it was investigating 14 companies for possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with home loans made to risky borrowers. Agency officials did not identify the companies under investigation but said the probe involved companies across the financial services industry, from mortgage lenders to investment banks that bundle home loans into securities sold to investors. (MSNBC -- Business)
KPMG Assessed $41 Million for Failing to Divulge Fraud Revealed in Audit Oct 15, 2008
Cast Art's lead attorney, , says he introduced evidence of a training course for KPMG's auditors on how to uncover accounting fraud. It was given by one of KPMG's trial lawyers -- Kelly Hnatt of Wilkie, Farr & Gallagher in New York -- in August 2000, a month before the Papel audit reports were issued. (Law.com)
NJ jury finds KPMG guilty of negligence Oct 14, 2008
A judge in New Brunswick threw out accounting fraud charges against KPMG in July, but allowed the negligence portion of the case to proceed. A KPMG spokesman said the firm believes there was no factual basis for the verdict and was confident it would be overturned on appeal. (NJ.com -- News)
Editorial on meltdown just propaganda Oct 11, 2008
Most of the mistakes for which we are paying now, Black told Frank, "were four entities that under conservative economic theory should have exercised effective market discipline: the appraisers, the originators of the mortgages, the rating agencies and the investment banking firm that packaged the subprime mortgage-backed securities. Instead of (disciplining) the markets, these private actors served as the four horsemen of the financial apocalypse, aiding the accounting fraud and inflating the... (The Augusta Chronicle)
Enron's Skilling May Report to Federal Prison Today Oct 8, 2008
More than 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in employee pensions vanished when Enron collapsed five years ago, following revelations of a widespread accounting fraud directed by Skilling and former Enron Chairman. Investors are suing to recover more than $30 billion in losses. (Yahoo News -- Enron)
LETTERS: NCT, Oct. 3, 2008 Oct 4, 2008
I am just pissed off at Ofheo [Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight] because if it wasn't for you I don't think that we would be here {discussing accounting fraud at Fannie/Freddie} in the first place. Ofheo Director Armando Falcon Jr.: Congressman, Ofheo did not improperly apply accounting rules; Freddie Mac did. (North County Times)
Fannie, Freddie Disclose Subpoenas Oct 3, 2008
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said the FBI's hunt for culprits in the U.S. mortgage crisis focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments. Additionally, the FBI is investigating failed bank IndyMac Bancorp Inc. for possible fraud. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
Meltdown sparks ID crises for sports arenas Oct 3, 2008
When Enron Corp. collapsed in a spectacular case of accounting fraud, the Houston Astros were quick to scrub the company's name from the team's ballpark, Enron Field. It was rechristened Minute Maid Park within months. (MSNBC -- Business)
Tommy Joe Alexander Oct 3, 2008
It was left unfinished in the wake of HealthSouth's multibillion-dollar accounting fraud scandal in 2003. HealthSouth retained a 40 percent ownership share of the Digital Hospital after the campus sold to Daniel. (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)
America has a tough vote on Nov. 4 Oct 3, 2008
falcon wrote on Sep 30, 2008 7:23 AM:" Leonard wrote, The only thing John McCain is unifying these days is the coalition against his reckless plans and incompetent leadership.Leonard, have you heard the tapes of the democrats suggesting a couple years ago that there were no problems with Fannie Mae and Freedie Mac when the republicans were questioning their bookkeeping? Talk about incompetent! Democrats Barney Frank and Maxine Waters were stating that Fannie and Freddie were just fine just a few... (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
Founder of SKorea's Daewoo gets suspended sentence Sep 25, 2008
Kim was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison for separate embezzlement and accounting fraud charges in 2006 but was pardoned under a presidential amnesty in December. Kim started as a textile salesman in 1967, building an empire that came to stand among the largest conglomerates, or chaebol, in South Korea. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Buffett invests in Goldman Sachs Sep 24, 2008
FBI director Robert Mueller has previously said the bureau's hunt for culprits in the nation's subprime mortgage crisis focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments. Officials said the new inquiries bring to 26 the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the past year. (Boston Globe)
* The US financial system is headed for a meltdown Sep 24, 2008
A key problem with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for instance, was that their regulator failed to do its job of uncovering the massive accounting fraud embedded in their books. That and the implicit guarantee of government backing (which finally turned explicit) allowed these two institutions to expand enormously, including into exotic financial transactions that they had no business being involved in. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
What Happened to Market Discipline? Sep 24, 2008
Bush and some Congress persons tried to rein in Fannie and Freddie in Bush's 1st term because of the accounting fraud ... The Accounting FRAUD with Fannie/Freddie was so bad it made ENRON look like a 1st grader's math word problem; to the tune of close to a Trillion Dollars. (Townhall.com)
WorldCom whistle-blower shares lessons at UNI event Sep 24, 2008
Don't have an account. (older than 14 days). (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Report: FBI probes firms at heart of meltdown Sep 24, 2008
FBI has said its hunt for culprits in the nation's subprime mortgage crisis focused on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments. The investigations revealed Tuesday come as lawmakers began considering whether to approve emergency legislation that would give the government broad power to buy up devalued assets from troubled financial firms. (San Jose Business Journal, CA)
J.P. Morgan Settles WorldCom Suit for $2 Billion Sep 24, 2008
Plaintiffs in the class-action case, lead by New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, claim J.P. Morgan and other WorldCom advisers and directors should have discovered the company's $11 billion accounting fraud and disclosed it to investors. Post 200 Profile. (Yahoo News -- WorldCom/MCI)
Fannie, Freddie Subprime Buying Spree May Add $100 Billion to Bailout Tab Sep 23, 2008
which collapsed into bankruptcy after being overwhelmed by customer defaults and an accounting fraud, and Ameriquest, once the biggest home-loan provider to consumers with poor credit, produced securities backed by loans small enough for Fannie and Freddie to buy. Fannie and Freddie's government charter restricted them from buying loans of more than $417,500. (Bloomberg)
Villain hat put on short sellers Sep 21, 2008
After the collapse of Enron Corp. in 2002, Wall Street "short sellers" were hailed as heroes for helping to expose the company's massive accounting fraud. Six years later, the shorts -- traders who borrow stock and sell it, expecting to profit from falling prices -- are the reviled black hats of global markets. (Fresno Bee -- Business)
LETTERS: NCT, Sept. 20, 2008 Sep 21, 2008
"Subprime loans were more prevalent among blacks in 98.5% of the metropolitan areas, while Hispanics were more apt to hold a subprime mortgage or refinance loan in nearly 89.1%, according to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), a non-profit focused on lending and community- development issues. Ms M wrote on Sep 20, 2008 12:44 PM:Geez folks, Palin did NOT ban any books - she just fired the librian. After public outcry, her dismissal was reversed. Focal Point wrote on Sep 20, 2008... (North County Times)
Sue Them, Jail Them, Make Them Pay for Meltdown Sep 20, 2008
The problem is that it normally takes something akin to criminal conduct, such as options backdating or accounting fraud, for civil suits to take money out of the hands of the accused. And, as previously noted, it isn't clear we will have that here. (Bloomberg -- Columnists)
Williams & Connolly on Fast Track for Sen. Stevens Case Sep 17, 2008
3 billion in restitution -- the culmination of the largest accounting fraud of the 1990s. It was the first time since the 1970s that one of Sullivan's clients saw jail time. (Law.com)
Guatemala's Avicola Villalobos Gets Favorable Ruling From Bermuda Court in Reinsurance Company Matter Sep 17, 2008
Lisa, S.A. has based its entire harassment campaign on a surreptitiously taped meeting where the alleged accounting fraud was supposedly "admitted"; however, Lisa's principal witness, Juan Guillermo Gutierrez, confessed during these proceedings there was nothing on these tapes that could be construed as an admission of fraudulent activity against Lisa, S.A. on the part of Avicola Villalobos or anyone else. On June 25, in the same Bermuda court, Juan Guillermo Gutierrez acknowledged that Avicola... (PR Newswire)
Lehman Failure Tests Limits Of U.S. Bailouts Sep 16, 2008
They engaged in accounting fraud to hide their balance sheets' bad loans. They put Washington's politicians in their pockets. (Investors Business Daily)
Lawyers for Enron Investors to Get $688 Million in Fees Sep 10, 2008
Houston-based Enron collapsed in a maze of debt and accounting fraud in 2001, costing employees, retirees and investors billions in losses in pensions and investments. (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Kim Coghill). (ABC News -- Wire)
Billions to Be Shared by Enron Shareholders Sep 10, 2008
The distribution plan was part of a $40 billion lawsuit filed by shareholders and investors, who claim Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase Citigroup and others participated in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's downfall. Calculating shares of the $7. (ABC News -- Wire)
Judge rules Enron shareholders can share in $7.2B settlement Sep 10, 2008
The money was recovered as part of a $40 billion lawsuit claiming financial institutions participated in the accounting fraud that led to the Houston-based energy company s collapse. U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon also approved $688 million in attorneys fees, the largest ever in a securities fraud case, according to the Associated Press. (Houston Business Journal, TX)
Enron Shareholders To Split $7.2 Billion Sep 10, 2008
The plan was part of a $40 billion lawsuit claiming financial institutions participated in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's downfall. The $7. (Click2Houston, TX)
2nd Circuit Upholds End of Cases Against Former KPMG Employees Aug 29, 2008
Arthur Andersen, KPMG's onetime rival, collapsed in the face of government charges that it participated in accounting fraud at Enron Corp. and companies' fears of a similar fate have given prosecutors enormous leverage in negotiating nonprosecution agreements. KPMG signed such a deal in August 2005, agreeing to pay $456 million in fines and restitution to former tax shelter clients. (Law.com)
V. Orville Wright; MCI Chief Instrumental in Breakup of AT& T Aug 24, 2008
Ebbers later received a 25-year prison term for accounting fraud leading to the company's collapse. A much-reduced version of MCI emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 and the next year was purchased by Verizon for $6. (Washington Post -- Technology)
Lee's pardons sendmixed message Aug 13, 2008
Most of the other convicted businessmen to be pardoned are already out on bail after receiving suspended jail terms on convictions including bribery and accounting fraud. Shares of SK Energy, Hyundai Motor and Hanwha Corp closed little changed on Tuesday as the benchmark Kospi Index declined 0. (Asia Times Online)
President pardons Hyundai's boss Aug 12, 2008
SK boss Chey Tae-won, who had been convicted of accounting fraud, and Kim Seung-youn of Hanwha Group, found guilty of assault, were also pardoned. All three businessmen had received suspended prison terms and are still active in their companies. (BBC News)
Livedoor Founder Horie, Others Face Damages Suit Aug 11, 2008
LDH, renamed from Livedoor Holdings Co. at the beginning of this month, argues that the group incurred losses due to a securities and accounting fraud carried out by the seven. Specifically, the fraud forced the group to cancel its data service business plan, costing it some 1. (JCN Network, Japan)
Sessions: Military hospital unlikely Aug 11, 2008
HealthSouth spent $200 million erecting the Digital Hospital, but it was left unfinished in the wake of the company's accounting fraud scandal. HealthSouth Corp. sold its headquarters to for $43. (Birmingham Business Journal, AL)
Andersen Will Settle Suit Over WorldCom Aug 4, 2008
The agreement, to be unveiled at a hearing in federal court on Tuesday, would end a three-week trial in which shareholders argued that Andersen should have uncovered an $11 billion accounting fraud at WorldCom. The fraud pushed the telecommunications company into the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history in 2002 and cost investors billions. (Yahoo News -- WorldCom/MCI)
U.S. Marshals Sell Off Hedge-Fund Portfolios as Corporate Crime Escalates Jul 31, 2008
Last year, he liquidated $400 million of stock as part of a settlement in the Corp. accounting fraud case. The stock and $200 million in cash were turned over to the government from Adelphia's sale and will be returned to investors bilked by company founder and his son, Timothy. (Bloomberg)
Ex-Enron Exec. Settles for $31.5 Million Jul 31, 2008
The massive accounting fraud at Enron, once the nation's seventh-largest company, and its collapse into bankruptcy in December 2001 made it emblematic of corporate corruption. In its suit, the SEC said that between May 18 and June 7, 2001, Pai sold 338,897 shares of Enron stock and exercised Enron stock options that put another 572,818 shares on the open market. (ABC News)
* World Business Quick Take Jul 26, 2008
The Tokyo District Court in March last year found Horie guilty of initiating the accounting fraud, which also involved other Livedoor executives. AUTOMOBILES. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
McAfee Sues WilmerHale Over $12 Million in Legal Fees Jul 22, 2008
Goyal was charged with accounting fraud and. In its latest motion to dismiss, filed Thursday, WilmerHale noted that the case required the production and review of 1. (Law.com)
Labaton's Newest Bid to Lead Major Securities Fraud Action Rejected Jul 22, 2008
The lead plaintiffs in AIG I, three Ohio public-employee retirement funds represented by Labaton Sucharow, claimed New York-based insurance giant AIG engaged in bid-rigging and accounting fraud from Oct. 28, 1999, through April 1, 2005. Last month, lawyers from Labaton Sucharow filed a motion for leave to amend the AIG I complaint, proposing to add claims based on AIG's alleged writedowns this year "of more than $20 billion stemming from losses in its portfolio of credit default swaps" written... (Law.com)
Livent accountants evaded controls: Drabinsky lawyer Jul 18, 2008
Mr. Roebuck questioned why Mr. Malcolm would deserve such benefits, noting his full-time job had been to follow Mr. Eckstein's orders to conduct an accounting fraud at the company. He also noted Mr. Malcolm had given a deposition in a civil case where he denied ever having sought a raise, promotion or any other reward for his work conducting the fraud. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
FBI probes IndyMac Bancorp Jul 18, 2008
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said the investigations focus on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments. Losses to homeowners and other borrowers are estimated at over 1 billion. (Ontario Argus Observer, OR)
FBI probing failed IndyMac bank: report Jul 17, 2008
In cases involving other banks, the FBI is "focusing on accounting fraud, the documentation of mortgage-backed securities and insider trading," the paper wrote. The FBI said in a statement the number of banks under investigation came to 21. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
Ad firms helped hide Livent fraud, trial told Jul 16, 2008
TORONTO Two outside advertising agencies working for Livent Inc. helped the theatre company hide an accounting fraud from its auditors by changing their invoices to move expenses from one year to another, a Toronto trial heard Tuesday. In testimony at the fraud trial of Livent co-founders Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb, former controller Grant Malcolm explained how the scope of the accounting fraud at Livent spread to encompass Echo Advertising of Toronto and LeDonne Wilner & Weiner Inc. of... (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Former Refco CEO sentenced to 16 years in prison Jul 4, 2008
Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers is serving a 25-year prison term for orchestrating a massive accounting fraud. Last week, a judge shaved some time off the sentences of Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son, Timothy, after an appeals court threw out one count of their convictions. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
* Probe unearths hidden assets of Daewoo founder Jul 3, 2008
Prosecutors have tried to track Kims hidden assets since he was convicted in 2005 of embezzlement and accounting fraud after returning from six years of exile overseas ... Kim was found guilty of masterminding an accounting fraud involving 20 trillion won and obtaining 9. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Midyear, a look back in anguish Jul 1, 2008
responsible for accounting fraud at Livent because he was often asleep during company meetings. Legal experts applaud the nap defence as a much better strategy than Mr. Gottlieb's earlier tack, billed the too clueless even to understand Microsoft Excel defence. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Free flow act key to keeping journalism strong - Monday, June 30, 2008 Jun 30, 2008
But it would prevent federal prosecutors from jailing journalists merely for reporting stories that bring unflattering or embarrassing situations to light situations like the conditions at Walter Reed Medical Center, like the accounting fraud at Enron, like the infamous Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Nixon. All of these stories and more depended on confidential sources to launch an investigation by news reporters. (Missoulian, MT)
HealthSouth finalizes stock sale Jun 30, 2008
5 billion following its 2003 accounting fraud scandal to $2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007. Reader Comments. (Birmingham Business Journal)
Oil is wild card in predicting stocks rebound Jun 28, 2008
Wall Street's low point in 2002 was attributed to a host of problems such as the accounting fraud at corporate names like Enron, Adelphia Communications and WorldCom. Global tensions after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks also hung over the market. (MSNBC -- Business)
Enron's Skilling May Report to Federal Prison Today Jun 28, 2008
More than 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in employee pensions vanished when Enron collapsed five years ago, following revelations of a widespread accounting fraud directed by Skilling and former Enron Chairman. Investors are suing to recover more than $30 billion in losses. (Yahoo News -- Enron)
Livent trial: Ex-CFO denies charges Jun 28, 2008
TORONTO Livent Inc.'s former chief financial officer yesterday denied suggestions she conspired with another former Livent employee to create a phony cover story to hide their involvement in an accounting fraud at the company. Defence lawyer Edward Greenspan, who represents Garth Drabinsky, co-founder of Livent, outlined the theory while cross-examining Maria Messina yesterday, adding a new twist to his suggestions that other Livent employees conducted the accounting fraud without Mr.... (Globe and Mail -- Business)
J.P. Morgan Settles WorldCom Suit for $2 Billion Jun 28, 2008
Plaintiffs in the class-action case, lead by New York State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi, claim J.P. Morgan and other WorldCom advisers and directors should have discovered the company's $11 billion accounting fraud and disclosed it to investors. Post 200 Profile. (Yahoo News -- WorldCom/MCI)
Livent ex-CFO grilled Jun 26, 2008
Edward Greenspan, who is representing Mr. Drabinsky at his fraud trial in Toronto, has spent four days cross-examining former Livent chief financial officer Maria Messina, repeatedly accusing her of lying in her testimony about her role at the company after she learned about a long-running accounting fraud in the 1990s. On Wednesday, Mr. Greenspan interrupted his own questioning to ask Ms. Messina why she never gives a straight answer to his questions. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Livent ex-CFO's position called ‘preposterous' Jun 25, 2008
Both men have pleaded not guilty and have suggested others conducted the accounting fraud without their knowledge ... He had no idea there was a massive accounting fraud and he would not have known, she testified. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Former Livent CFO spun fraud story, defence suggests Jun 24, 2008
TORONTO Former Livent Inc. chief financial officer Maria Messina managed to spin a story about an alleged accounting fraud at the company to convince senior executives to keep her employed even after the improprieties were uncovered, lawyer Edward Greenspan charged Monday. Mr. Greenspan, who is representing Livent co-founder Garth Drabinsky at his fraud trial in Toronto, suggested while cross-examining Ms. Messina that she misled new owners who took control of Livent in 1998 about what really... (Globe and Mail)
FBI Mortgage-Fraud Probe Is Looking at Big Firms Jun 22, 2008
Mr. Mueller said there are 1,400 investigations under way, involving everything from accounting fraud to insider trading. "We will investigate, we will prosecute and we will bring those individuals to justice," seeking prison terms where appropriate, Mr. Mueller said. (Yahoo News -- Real Estate)
2 former Bear Stearns execs indicted, arrested Jun 21, 2008
The probes are looking into accounting fraud, insider trading and concealment information about the values of mortgage securities, he said. Based on the Bear Stearns example, the government "appears to be looking at liability at the individual level rather than the institutional level," Bunzel said. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Hundreds Swept Up In Mortgage Fraud Arrests Jun 21, 2008
Officials declined to say who might be the next corporate target, but Mueller said the investigations focus on accounting fraud, insider trading, and failure to disclose the value of mortgage-related securities and other investments. Under review for potential fraud are: investment banks, hedge funds, credit rating agencies, brokerage houses and due diligence firms - which evaluate loans packaged into investments. (Forbes -- Business)
