Kos reports about a precedent setting ruling regarding WorldCom, where the NY State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi ruled that 10 of the former corporate directors will have to pay $18 million of their own personal money as a settlement in the case.
Kos goes on to note that this is precedent setting, and I agree, but it's not the first time.
When I worked for Hahnemann Univ. in the 90's, it was sold to the Allegheny Health Education and Research Foundation (AHERF), whose CEO, Sharif Abdelhak, and three directors were all held personally accountable for malfeasance and misuse of charitable funds. This was the largest non-profit bankruptcy in the history of the country in the late 1990s. AHERF was the parent company of Allegheny General Hospital, then Pittsburgh's largest hospital.
Among many other shady financial dealings, the thieving CEO and CFO -- Sharif Abdelhak and David McConnell -- diverted some $50 million in restricted funds from two of AHERF's smaller affiliate hospitals (Forbes Health System and Allegheny Valley Hospital) to pay off a loan from a consortium led by Mellon Bank. The story is unbelievable and can be read here.
Abdelhak received a, 11 1/2 - 23 month jail sentence in a minimum security federal prison that allowed him to leave during the day and only report at night, and he was released after serving only 9 months.
And Martha got 5 months of 24/7 time for lying? Spare me.
