Cendant’s Forbes Is Convicted Of Conspiracy

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The New York Sun

Walter Forbes, the former chairman of now-defunct Cendant Corp.,was convicted at his third criminal trial of conspiracy in the accounting fraud that caused the company’s market value to drop $14 billion in one day in 1998.

Jurorsin Bridgeport, Connecticut, convicted Mr. Forbes of conspiracy and two counts of false reporting. He was found not guilty of securities fraud. Mr. Forbes was accused of overstating income by $252 million at CUC International Inc.

Mr. Forbes, 63, was chief executive officer at CUC, which merged with HFS Inc. in 1997 to create Cendant. Prosecutors said he made $100 million while inflating shares to satisfy Wall Street analysts.

Prosecutors spent eight years pursuing Mr. Forbes, opting for a third trial after two earlier juries deadlocked.


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