Milgram
TRENTON, N.J. (Legal Newsline) - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram has settled a seven-year-old lawsuit against PricewaterhouseCoopers, the financial services firm alleged to have cause losses to the State's pension fund.
PricewaterhouseCoopers agreed to pay $5.85 million to resolve allegations of fraud and accounting improprieties at Tyco International, Milgram announced Thursday. Tyco has already paid $73.25 million to settle insider trading allegations, and some of the executives who were involved went to prison.
"This is another important settlement for the citizens of New Jersey, and for the state's pension investment portfolio," Milgram said.
"We remain firm in our commitment to safeguard the state's financial assets, to protect investors from fraud and to hold corporations accountable."
The suit also alleged that Tyco executives used corporate funds for personal expenses and a failure by the executives to disclose millions of dollars in personal loan benefits. PricewaterhouseCoopers contributed to the losses incurred by the state's pension fund by violating accounting and auditing standards while handling Tyco's books, Milgram said.
PricewaterhouseCoopers admitted to no wrongdoing in the settlement. Two law firms handled the case for New Jersey -- Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti and Shaloy, Stone, Bonner & Rocco.
Former interim Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers announced a $97.5 million settlement with PricewaterhouseCoopers in October. The company was alleged to have violated securities laws by providing auditing services and unqualified audit opinions on AIG's financial statements.
From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.