Ex Cendant chairman sentenced to over 12 years in US prison

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The former chairman of Cendant Corp. was sentenced to over 12 years in prison in connection with a massive accounting fraud dating back to the 1990s, US prosecutors said. A judge in Connecticut ordered the sentence of 12 years and seven months for Walter Forbes, and ordered him to pay a whopping 3.275 billion dollars in restitution.

Forbes was convicted of securities fraud and other charges during his tenure at Cendant, which had been a major real estate and travel holding company, in connection with a scandal that "presaged others like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and others," according to a statement by US Attorney Christopher Christie. US District Judge Alan Nevas rejected defense arguments for a prison sentence of no more than 10 years. The judge did not give...