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Saturday, November 21, 
3:55 am

BofA's Ken Lewis to join other fraudsters?

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lewis,ken125x100.jpgBank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) has apparently agreed to a Tuesday meeting with chairman of the House's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., after the bank missed a deadline to turn over documents his panel sought in BofA's takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co, according to Bloomberg. But for CEO Ken Lewis, this could be the beginning of the end. 

The deal is also being investigated by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who rejected a $33 million settlement agreed upon between the Securities and Exchange Commission and BofA, as well as New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has subpoenaed documents and is weighing fraud charges for five Bank of America board members including Lewis.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the board was meeting Monday to figure out what to do if Lewis is charged with civil fraud. Chances are one of these executives is next in line.

If he is charged, Lewis could join a long list of CEOs that were slapped with fraud charges -- many of which landed in prison. Here are some of the names and their circumstances:

  • Former HealthSouth chairman and chief executive Richard Scrushy, 56, was found guilty of bribery and mail fraud for his participation in a scheme to pay $500,000 bribes in return for a spot on a state regulatory panel.
  • Former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, 47,  pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and conspiracy when he tried to to conceal the company's massive losses. He was also ordered to forfeit $23.8 million in family assets.
  • Former Qwest CEO Joseph Nacchio, 60, was convicted of 19 counts of insider trading, and he was ordered to pay a $19 million fine and forfeit $52 million he gained in illegal stock sales.
  • John Rigas, 83, founder of cable television company Adelphia Communications, was convicted on charges of bank, wire and securities fraud. Rigas and his sons, who also ran the company, embezzled $2.3 billion in liabilities from corporate investors and used corporation funds as their personal funds. He's in a federal prison in Butner, N.C., where Bernie Madoff was sent.
  • Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, 55, was convicted on counts of fraud, insider trading and other crimes related to the collapse of Enron. He sold almost $60 million of his stake in the company with inside information of Enron's impending bankruptcy, according to the prosecution. Skilling is currently awaiting a re-sentencing hearing.

  • Dennis Kozlowski, 62, the former CEO of Tyco International, was convicted in 2005 of crimes related to his receipt of $81 million in purportedly unauthorized bonuses, the purchase of art for $14.725 million and the payment by Tyco of a $20 million investment banking fee to Frank Walsh, a former Tyco director. He is currently serving up to 24 years at the Mid State Correctional Facility in Marcy, N.Y.

  • Bernie Ebbers, 68, former CEO of Worldcom, was convicted of fraud and conspiracy as a result of the telecom's false financial reporting and subsequent $11 billion loss. He is doing 25 years.
  • Former Kmart Corp. CEO Charles Conaway, 48, was charged with civil fraud after the SEC accused him of failing to disclose that the retailer was delaying payments to suppliers to save cash in a November 2001 conference call.
  • Former CEO of Countrywide Financial Corp., Angelo Mozilo, 68, is also facing charges of civil fraud and charges for offering exotic mortgages to borrowers with a questionable ability to repay them.
- Maria Woehr and Donna Block

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