Joseph Cassano
The AIG executive was accused of virtually bankrupting the insurance giant.
Dec. 14, 2009 — -- Joe Cassano, the Brooklyn cop's son who rose to the upper executive ranks of AIG before virtually bankrupting the company, is known for his bluster, his seeming iinability to admit mistakes, and for maybe being the man who crashed the world economy. But in 2009 ABC News learned that the FBI and federal prosecutors were investigating whether he had also committed fraud while overcommitting his company to subprime loans and helping to spark the global financial meltdown.
Cassano, who lived in London but has now relocated to Connecticut, made more than $280 million running the infamous Financial Products Division of AIG. The unit traded heavily in financial instruments called credit default swaps that ended up exposing the company to billions of dollars in losses, triggering a massive bail-out by the U.S. government. AIG has received about $180 billion in federal bailout funds.
Now the feds want to know whether Cassano also mislead investors by failing to disclose important information about the company's mortgage-related business and overstating its value. Cassano's lawyer has said that his client is cooperating with authorities.
