Pittsburgh Law Office of Alfred G. Yates Jr PC Announces Class Action Suit Against American International Group, Inc. On Behalf Of Investors - AIG

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2004

PITTSBURGH -- A class action lawsuit has been filed by the Law Office of Alfred G. Yates Jr PC in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of American International Group, Inc. ("AIG") (NYSE:AIG) publicly traded securities during the period between October 28, 1999 and October 13, 2004 (the "Class Period").

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than December 14, 2004. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Alfred G. Yates, Jr. at 1-800-391-5164 or via e-mail at yateslaw@aol.com. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges AIG and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. AIG is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in a range of insurance and insurance-related activities in the United States and abroad. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants disseminated false and misleading financial statements to the investing public. The true facts, which were known by each of the defendants but concealed from the investing public during the Class Period, were as follows: (a) that the Company was paying illegal and concealed "contingent commissions" pursuant to illegal "contingent commission agreements;" (b) that by concealing these "contingent commissions" and such "contingent commission agreements" the defendants violated applicable principles of fiduciary law, subjecting the Company to enormous fines and penalties totaling potentially tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars; (c) that defendants had concealed the fact that AIG had engaged in illegal transactions using PNC-style structures with at least five additional insurers (in addition to PNC), contrary to defendants' claims on January 30, 2002; and (d) that as a result, the Company's prior reported revenue and income was grossly overstated.

On October 14, 2004, Elliot Spitzer announced he had charged several of the nation's largest insurance companies and the largest broker with bid rigging and pay-offs he claimed violated fraud and competition laws. On this news, AIG shares fell $6.80 to $60.19 on unusually heavy trading volume of approximately 50 million shares.