GREENBERG NEARS DEAL WITH CUOMO
By PAUL THARP
Last updated: 8:10 am
July 24, 2008
Posted: 3:46 am
July 24, 2008
Deposed insurance king Hank Greenberg is walking a tightrope toward the end of his long fight with New York officials over the way he ran his empire.
Greenberg is said to be in settlement talks with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over charges that Greenberg improperly dressed up corporate books to show improved profits.
The case was brought more than three years ago by former attorney general Eliot Spitzer but has been unwinding lately with many of the charges dropped or settled separately involving others.
Lawyers familiar with the matter said Greenberg is being pressured to pay a big fine to settle the case, and he's believed to be resisting.
Cuomo is pushing back by indicating that Greenberg may have to testify or else take the Fifth Amendment.
Either scenario could hurt Greenberg in his fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission over an inquiry into possible securities law violations.
The SEC has sent Greenberg a Wells Notice indicating it might file formal charges.
Greenberg was scheduled to have been deposed on Tuesday, but that was postponed due to talks by his lawyers with Cuomo, The Wall Street Journal reported.
One of his lawyers was quoted as saying the deposition would continue in about six weeks.
