Summary
Bond insurer MBIA Inc. will pay a $75 million fine to settle New York and federal securities fraud charges related to the company's relationship to the Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation, known as AHERF. Under its agreements with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General's office, MBIA will pay the civil fines, restate its earnings from 1998 through 2004, and improve its accounting and business procedures. According to regulators, MBIA used secret side agreements with two reinsurance firms to avoid having to book a $170 million loss in 1998 stemming from AHERF's default on $256 million in MBIA- guaranteed hospital bonds. MBIA also set aside $28 million in reserve to redeem the last in a series of tax lien-backed bonds from the city of Pittsburgh, which have resulted in $185 million in claims against MBIA. Last month, MBIA agreed to sell tax liens worth $6.5 million on more than 10,000 city properties back to Pittsburgh.
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Extract
Briefs: Bond Insurer Pays $75m Fine to Settle Aherf Charge
U.S. regulators said Tuesday that Sony BMG Music Entertainment agreed to reimburse consumers up to $150 for damage to their computers from CDs with hidden anti-piracy software. According to the Federal Trade Commission, which announced the settlement, Sony BMG's anti-piracy software limited the devices on which music could be played to thos...
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