Thursday, May 6, 2010

"Fraud suit targets former Calpers CEO, board member"

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From Reuters:

California's attorney general has sued two former top officials of the biggest U.S. public pension fund, charging them with taking part in fraudulent broker-dealer activities involving fund investments worth billions of dollars..

The complaint, filed in state court on Wednesday, claims Alfred Villalobos, a former board member of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (Calpers) who served as a placement agent for investment companies, cultivated a former Calpers chief executive with gifts, gratuities and promises of future employment to help influence investment decisions at the fund.

Federico Buenrostro Jr, who was Calpers' CEO from 2002 to 2008, is charged with helping Villalobos and his firm, ARVCO Capital Research, win investment work at the fund.

Buenrostro played a "key role in assisting Villalobos and ARVCO in their fraudulent activities," according to the complaint, which seeks to recover at least $70 million.

Villalobos, a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, served on the board of Calpers, a $212 billion fund, from 1992 to 1995....MORE