General Re exec pleads guilty in AIG -transaction

marketwatch.com, WSJ ^ | 06/06/05 | Carolyn Pritchard

[Grampa Dave]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&guid={064C1C55-5EA9-4481-9D20-8E9F19AB420B}&dist=bnb

11:46am 06/06/05

General Re exec pleads guilty in AIG -transaction - WSJ (BRK.B, BRK.A) By Carolyn Pritchard

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) --

An executive at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s (BRK.B) (BRK.A) General Re unit has pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal conspiracy in relation to the company's transaction with American International Group Inc. (AIG) , the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Monday, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter.

John Houldsworth, who headed up General Re's reinsurance unit in Dublin, reportedly faces up to five years in prison for his role in a 2001 transaction between insurance giant AIG and General Re. He has pleaded guilty to helping AIG mislead shareholders and auditors with the transaction, according to the Journal, which improperly boosted AIG's reserves by $500 million.

Houldsworth will cooperate with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in their investigation into nontraditional insurance products, the Journal reported.

The Justice Department will file a criminal complaint in the Eastern District of Virginia and the SEC will file a civil complaint in the Southern District of Manhattan later today, the Journal reported, citing an unnamed familiar with the matter.

[Liz]

Won't even know what hit him (smirk).

[Southack]

David Boies is Greenberg's lawyer...that's pretty much an admission of guilt right there.

[Grampa Dave]

The really good thing about this, Greenberg just might hire some good PI's to find out how many bribes Spitzball has taken,