A New York state court judge warned Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the 91-year-old former chairman of American International Group Inc., that his fraud trial might last a year unless he answered questions more fully.
The admonishment came Wednesday during Greenberg's second day of testimony, after repeated claims by the former AIG boss that he didn't remember details of a 16-year-old business deal that prosecutors say was drummed up to hide the insurer's financial condition from shareholders.
"If you don't want this trial to last a year we will need direct answers," New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos, who is presiding over the case without a jury, told Greenberg.
New York Assistant Attorney General David Nachman spent most of the day questioning Greenberg about his relationship with Joseph Umansky, a former senior AIG senior vice president who cooperated with the government investigation. Greenberg and former AIG Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith are accused of concocting a scheme to shield more than $200 million of underwriting losses from a failed auto-warranty program and assigned Umansky to handle it.
Business on 09/29/2016