Ex-AIG Executive Is Sentenced to 4 Years
By AMIR EFRATI
A former American International Group Inc. executive was sentenced in Hartford, Conn., to four years in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy that caused losses to AIG investors.
Christian Milton Sentenced to 4 Years
Christian Milton, who was vice president of AIG’s reinsurance business, faced about 20 years in prison, according to federal sentencing guidelines.
Mr. Milton, of Wynnewood, Pa., also will undergo a two-year supervised release after prison and pay a $200,000 fine.
Separately, AIG is making retention payments of about $450 million to employees at its AIG Financial Products unit, according to people familiar with the matter. In a statement, AIG noted it adopted the retention program months before last year’s government bailout, and also said it was cutting $800 million in deferred compensation to AIG FP employees.
Mr. Milton’s considerably shorter sentence might be a good sign for the executive’s onetime boss at AIG, former Chief Executive Maurice R. “Hank” Greenberg, who remains under scrutiny by investigators, according to people familiar with the case.
Mr. Milton will have less of an incentive to cooperate with the government in a potential case against Mr. Greenberg in exchange for lower prison terms, these people said. It is the second short sentence issued in the matter. Former Gen Re Chief Ron Ferguson received a two-year sentence.
Mr. Milton, 61 years old, works with Mr. Greenberg at an insurance firm Mr. Greenberg heads, C.V. Starr & Co. “We’re disappointed in the sentence but we’re confident we will get the conviction reversed,” said Fred Hafetz, a lawyer for Mr. Milton.
The executives were convicted of helping AIG improperly inflate its reserves by $500 million in 2000 and 2001. The disclosure of the fraud in 2005 came amid an accounting scandal at AIG that cost Mr. Greenberg his job. Mr. Greenberg has maintained his innocence. Lee Wolosky, a lawyer for Mr. Greenberg, declined to comment. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut declined to comment on whether it would appeal Mr. Milton’s sentence.
Write to Amir Efrati at amir.efrati@wsj.com