Feds Probe AIG Execs' Statements, Records: Did They Lie?

March 17, 2009— -- With AIG bonuses sparking outrage from taxpayers and lawmakers, government investigators have the company in its crosshairs, investigating whether its executives misled investors and government regulators about its financial health.

In Securities and Exchange Commission filings, AIG acknowledges that it is under federal scrutiny for and notes that it is cooperating with the government's probe.

Investigators are looking at statements from company leaders, who sometimes painted a sunny picture, even in the months and weeks before financial implosion. More than 100 companies are under federal scrutiny for possible fraud; last September, FBI Director Robert Mueller said bureau investigators were looking at "larger corporations, who may have engaged in misstatements in the course of what transpired during this financial crisis."

In August 2007, Joe Cassano, then head of AIG Financial Products, held a conference call with investors, reassuring them that the company was financially sound, despite its involvement in a growing housing finance meltdown.

"It is hard for us with, and without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing $1 in any of those transactions," he said, referring to credit default swap transactions.

And in October 2007, AIG ran a television ad promoting its solvency and financial savvy.

"Who do you go to in the clutch?" the ad asked, while noting that more than 65 million customers rely on the company "when their money is on the line."

In December 2007, more confidence from AIG leadership, despite darkening economic clouds, when then-AIG President and CEO Martin Sullivan described the company's exposure as "manageable" and that it was "confident in [its] marks and the reasonableness of [its] valuations."

Three months later in February 2008, Sullivan said that "AIG is well positioned to grow shareholder value despite the current turbulent environment."

The next month, with the housing market collapsing, AIG leadership told investors not to expect "significant losses" despite the economic uncertainty.

Sullivan reiterated the confident statements in May 2008, telling investors that, with the exclusion of "external market issues, the underlying fundamentals of our core businesses remain solid."

But within weeks, AIG recorded losses in the billions of dollars.