Ex-RenaissanceRe Holdings Executive Settles with SEC over Fraud Charges

By Aaron Poehler

Published on November 12, 2007

According to the SEC's allegations, Cash was accused of committing fraud in connection with a transaction between RenaissanceRe and Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Company Ltd. designed to artificially inflate RenaissanceRe's earnings by transferring funds from a highly profitable year's earnings to those of a less profitable year. As a result, RenaissanceRe's financial statements for the years 2001 and 2002 misrepresented the company's financial strength and artificially inflated the value of the company's stock.

Under the terms of the settlement approved by Judge Gerald E. Lynch of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Cash also agreed not to serve as an officer or director of a public company for a period of five years. Cash neither admitted nor denied the charges brought against him.

In October 2006, former RenaissanceRe controller Martin J. Merritt agreed to a partial settlement in connection with the same transaction; a case against former RenaissanceRe chief executive officer James Stanard is still pending. RenaissanceRe itself settled a related case with the SEC in February of this year, agreeing to pay $15 million in fines, and a federal judge has tentatively approved a $13.5 million settlement for a related securities class-action lawsuit.

Comment on this article →