Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has ordered a criminal investigation into failed Southeastern U.S. Insurance and its former CEO, comparing the company’s business practices to those of Enron.
"After reviewing financial transactions made by the company, I find no other recourse but to open a criminal investigation into the actions of [Former CEO] M. Clark Fain, III," Oxendine said, in a release. "I can only compare the bookkeeping methods of the company to those of Enron."
Oxendine was named liquidator of Southeastern in late October 2009, when Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas R. Campbell, Jr., ordered the company into liquidation. Under the consent order, Oxendine’s office was authorized to sell off the company’s assets to pay claims.
However, department analysts became suspicious of the company when they learned that it had engaged in a questionable transaction regarding a hunting club that it owned. Oxendine said the department also discovered that the company, which had approximately 209 workers’ compensation policyholders at the time of liquidation, was overstating assets while significantly understating liabilities.
"Indications are that this is a case of corporate greed," Oxendine said. "The questionable accounting engaged in by the company ultimately has a huge negative impact on the lives of decent, innocent citizens."
A copy of the full release is available at www.gainsurance.org.