Judge Refuses to Dismiss Securities Fraud Lawsuit Against AIG

By | October 4, 2010

A judge refused to dismiss a securities fraud lawsuit accusing American International Group Inc. of misleading investors about its exposure to subprime mortgages, which led to a liquidity crisis and $182.3 billion in federal bailouts.

Reuters reported that the ruling by U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain allows the case to go forward and could pave the way for a trial over AIG’s near collapse. The government rescue led taxpayers to take a nearly 80 percent stake in the New York-based insurer.

Investors led by the State of Michigan Retirement Systems accused AIG, executives and directors of failing to disclose the risks that AIG had taken on through its portfolio of credit default swaps (CDS) and a securities lending program.

Swain wrote that the allegations in the class-action lawsuit were sufficient to suggest there was “a strong inference of fraudulent intent” in how AIG communicated publicly about the risks in the portfolio of credit default swaps.

She also said that plaintiffs made sufficient arguments to claim that AIG “materially misled the market” in hiding its “expansive” CDS underwriting, repeatedly expressing confidence in its ability to manage risk and justifying a May 2008 capital raising.

Among the defendants are Martin Sullivan, a former AIG chief executive; Joseph Cassano, who ran AIG’s Financial Products unit, which managed the CDS portfolio; current and former directors; 34 banks that underwrote AIG securities; and former accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

The case is In re: American International Group Inc 2008 Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-05072.

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Insurance Journal Magazine October 4, 2010
October 4, 2010
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