Florida Firefighters Burned By AIG Fraud?

(CBS)  Police and firemen in Jacksonville, Florida, say their pension fund took a $3 million hit based on what they charge was securities fraud by high ranking executives at AIG, reports CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian.

"They're corporate criminals and boardroom bandits," John Keane, executive director of the Jacksonville Fire and Pension Fund told CBS News, "It was a financial house of cards in a windstorm."

The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund is part of a massive class action lawsuit against the one-time insurance giant. The complaint accuses the company of losing tens of billions of dollars and involves more than 700,000 state and government employees and investors across the country.

The lawsuit claims that former AIG CEO Martin Sullivan, and ex-Chief Financial Officer Steven Bensinger, among others, conducted a "campaign to obscure the true risks facing the company" in part, by denying any problems with AIG securities tied to subprime loans.

Jacksonville District Fire Chief Randy Wyse says, "Our members surely want [AIG executives] to be held accountable if there was any wrongdoing."

CBS News has learned that officials at Pricewaterhouse Coopers-AIG's independent auditor-are cooperating with Justice Department and S.E.C investigations into AIG.

Sources say auditors at PwC have told federal prosecutors that they were repeatedly denied access to key information and employees by senior AIG executives.

The auditors say it wasn't until the first week of November 2007-after weeks of stonewalling-that AIG officials revealed that six investment banks were demanding at least $3 billion to cover potential losses tied to risky mortgages.

In a conference call with investors on December 5, 2007, then CEO Sullivan downplayed any problems with AIG's portfolio, "The probability that it will sustain an economic loss is close to zero."

"No risk to the company? No risk to the investors? No risk in the underlying assets?" said Keane. "False. False. False."

During the same call with investors, Joseph Cassano, who headed up the financial products unit at the heart of the company's collapse, was not quite as confident. "I know it's going to be volatile," Cassano said in response to one question. "I know it's going to be dynamic and we're going to be in this phase for quite a while, and at least through the end of the quarter."

Sullivan declined repeated requests for comment from CBS News.

Tracked down outside his summer home, former CFO Steven Bensinger, also declined comment, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not talking about this."

Documents show that Bensinger earned more than $20 million as CFO and could receive $10 million more in severance money. Meanwhile, the men and women hired to protect Jacksonville have seen 70 years worth of their pension money go up in smoke.

[pensacola8-2009]

My employer doesn't offer pensions any more. I don't care of firefighters or police officers loose their pensions. It is a national trend. Say goodbye to pensions.

[tincup356]

AIG has turned out to be real scumbags,,,it was reported today that they were denying all claims for hospital costs and lost luggage for people that were on the plane that crash landed in the Hudson river.Just another case of too big to pay in America,,,has anyone noticed how congress, Washington and corporate America all of a sudden have all the money and they don't seem to care about the people anymore? More change we cannot believe in. Next thing you know they will be rewriting the preamble to the constitution to read "We of Corporate America" instead of "We the People". It is quite evident that the people of this country ARE NOT represented by ANYONE in Washington.

[quapawsix]

Now we are in the Summer of our discontent. With outrageous indignation we pose the question was the American People asleep at the wheel or is it because they don't want to think for themselves. This is nothing more than the money scheme that was cooked up by the the very people we put in charge Repukes and Demogogs, and their good buddies, the banker elite.
It's time to end the GOV/CORP agreement.

[tincup356]

Americans have gone brain dead. Why will no one admit.......That BOTH parties are to blame for ALL our problems,,,,they have BOTH contributed to our misery. Picking between the two parties is about the same thing as picking between the crypts or the bloods, the ONLY difference is Republicans and Democrats wear suits and ties.THAT is the ONLY difference,,,,other than that they are identical organized crime syndicates, their only purpose is to prey upon the people and STEAL MONEY. If we don't have a revolt to remove them BOTH, "We the People " will very soon become extinct.

[mainermike]

AS I SEE IT, by Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.

It's bad enough to rip off someone. But firefighters-that's the ultimate low blow.

These men and women are true heroes who risk it all.

Don't expect these executives that apparently ripped these brave firefighters off to be rescued from a fire anytime soon.

Or at least, if I were a fireman, I wouldn't.

[mainermike]

AS I SEE IT, by Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.

It's bad enough to rip someone off in the first place. But firefighters-that's the ultimate low blow. These brave men and women are true heroes.

These executives that apparently ripped of the firefighters shouldn't expect to be rescued from a fire anytime soon.

Or at least I wouldn't if I were a fireman.

[hungry1968-15]

You have posted links to a bunch of left-wing nut job websites trying to make EXCUSES...but you haven't produced any facts.

I don't need links to produce FACTS, Hungry, the facts are right out there big as life to anybody to see...all you need to do is the same research I did to find the FACTS.
Posted by IThoughtItWasFunnyAgin at 7:53 AM : Jun 13, 2009






HILARIOUS!!!!

You NOW consider the website:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/dcca/cra/

to be a "left-wing nut job website"?





ROFLMAO!!!!

[hungry1968-15]

No, what's hilarious is that you've tossed up a bunch of EXCUSES and absolutely NO FACTS!
Posted by IThoughtItWasFunnyAgin at 7:37 AM : Jun 13, 2009





I'm STILL waiting for a link, ANY LINK, from you proving your nonsense to be true.

I've posted several, you've posted NONE. So go ahead, post away.

[mainermike]

This is AS I SEE IT, by Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.

That's all we need is for our brave firefighters to get ripped off.

Firefighters are true heroes, because they risk their lives to save others, the true defintion of a hero or heroine.

A hero isn't some baseball player that won the Cy Young Award, or an NBA player who led his team to a championship.

These firefighters have my respect, and I hate to see them get ripped off.

That's AS I SEE IT. I'm Mike "Mainer Mike" Brown.

[hungry1968-15]

You still don't have any FACTS, Hungry!

It was Clinton who went to congress and insisted on the de-regulation bill because he'd let Citibank and Traverls merge and it was against the law, it was Clinton who insisted the CRA be in it that was IN FACT giving loans to people whose qualification was breathing, it was Cllinton who signed the bill into law. It was Clinton employees who cooked their books trying to cover up all the bad loans they had guaranteed....

Those are FACTS, Hungry, no amount of EXCUSES you can toss up like like limp day old salad can dispute them.
Posted by IThoughtItWasFunnyAgin at 7:26 AM : Jun 13, 2009






So let me get this straight: You believe that Clinton went to the republican led congress and senate, and DEMANDED that Phil Gramm create the deregulation bill, all while they were trying to impeach him and witch hunting him at every turn?

And even though they opposed EVERY SINGLE thing that Clinton did, said, or stood for, they caved in and created the bill that Clinton allegedly DEMANDED that they write, AND they overwhelmingly voted for it, making it veto proof?

And even though I've provided you with several links to sources, INCLUDING the one to the federal reserve itself, you can't provide ANY links whatsoever to prove your nonsense?

Yeah, those are some brilliant debating skills you possess lady. (Sarcasm.)