The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred Conseco Inc.'s former chief financial officer and chief accounting officer from auditing the books of public companies for at least the next five years.
Conseco filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002, which the Carmel, Ind.-based insurer emerged from years later. At the time, the filing was the third largest in U.S. history, trailing only Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc.
In early July, the a federal court ordered former chief financial officer Rollin Dick to pay a $110,000 civil penalty, and former chief accounting officer James Adams to pay a $90,000 civil penalty. The SEC had filed civil charges against both two men in 2004, accusing them of conducting a fraudulent scheme to avoid a write-down of Conseco assets. The company faltered after a deal to acquire a mobile-home mortgage lender didn't result in boosted revenues.The men can reapply to practice before the SEC in 2012.
