GE Coughs Up $70MM for Securities Fraud

MarketWatch reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged GE Funding Capital Market Services with securities fraud for participation in what it called "a wide-ranging scheme involving the reinvestment of proceeds from the sale of municipal securities."

In order to settle the case, the unit of General Electric will pay about $25 million to be returned to the victims and another $45.35 million as part of a deal with the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service and a coalition of 25 state attorneys general. "Our in-depth investigations have uncovered pervasive corrupt practices in the municipal securities reinvestment market, and we are requiring financial firms one by one to step up and pay the price for their misconduct," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in the announcement. "More than $743 million has been recovered from financial institutions in these settlements, much of which has been returned to municipalities that have been harmed."

Read more at http://www.marketwatch.com/Story/Story/?guid={24D87349-9588-484C-A803-F48A5FC744CC}