The former CEO of General RE Corp. will spend two years in prison and pay $200,000 after being convicted in an accounting fraud.
Ronald Ferguson, 66, was sentenced in Hartford Federal court Tuesday for his role in a conspiracy to manipulate AIG's financial statements. Shareholders lost more than $500 million in the scheme.
Ferguson was convicted in February of conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud and making false statements to the SEC. His lawyer had been trying since then to keep his client out of jail.
Michael Horowitz told a judge it would be wrong to compare Ferguson's case to more serious corporate frauds. Prosecutors said the financial system can't function if people do what Ferguson did.
Three other executives from Gen Re and AIG were also convicted in the scheme that ran from 2000 to 2001. They have not been sentenced yet.
