Pirvate Investmet....2.5 Billion Loss!!

A jury in US District Court in Manhattan on Thursday convicted former Refco Inc. President Tone N. Grant of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering in connection with the October 2005 collapse of the company which caused investor and partner losses estimated at $2.4 billion. Refco, at one time the largest futures broker on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, collapsed just two months after its IPO. Prosecutors alleged that Grant, former CFO Robert Trosten and former Chairman and CEO Phillip Bennett engaged in a years-long scheme to hide extensive trading losses from auditors, banks, investors and Thomas H. Lee Partners, which had purchased a majority interest in Refco in August 2004; the losses were transferred from the company’s books to a company controlled by Bennett, Grant and another partner. Trosten and Bennett pleaded guilty in February; Santo Maggio, former CEO of Refco’s offshore unit, pleaded guilty in December (earlier here and here). All three men agreed to cooperate with prosecutors; both Trosten and Maggio testified against Grant. Sentencing for Grant is scheduled for August 7; he faces a maximum of 85 years in prison. He was allowed to remain free on bond (Bloomberg, Dow Jones Newswires).