(Bloomberg) -- Live Well Financial Inc. Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Hild was convicted of conspiring to inflate the value of bonds used as collateral for loans.
Hild was found guilty by a federal jury in New York on Friday following an in-person trial that began two weeks ago, according to federal prosecutors.
He was charged in August 2019 of conspiring with other executives to increase the value of a pool of bonds that were used as collateral for loans, allowing the company to generate more than $100 million in revenue beginning in September 2015.
Prosecutors argued that Hild used lenders “like an ATM,” enriching himself by borrowing against the bonds.
The scheme fell apart in May 2019, when Live Well wrote down the value of the bond portfolio by $141 million and announced it would cease operations. Three of Live Well's lenders forced the firm into liquidation in June 2019, claiming to have lost more than $130 million.
Former Live Well Chief Financial Officer Eric Rohr and former head trader Darren Stumberger pleaded guilty and cooperated with the government in the hopes of receiving more lenient sentences.
The case is U.S. v. Hild, 19-cr-00602, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
