Former AIG Attorney Alleges Wrongful Termination After Reporting Fraudulent Activity

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

An ex-attorney for American International Group (AIG) filed a federal lawsuit claiming AIG fired him after he formally complained about fraudulent activity surrounding an effort to create a separate legal services company.

Case background

That whistleblower is Aaron Katzel, who worked at AIG for a decade and headed the Legal Operations Center (LOC) for the company. He claims his termination in 2017 was a direct response to him alerting the compliance department at the company about corporate fraud, malfeasance and other internal control issues.

Katzel alleges there was an attempt to spin off the LOC into a separate, independent business supported by outside investors that would serve and create value for AIG. AIG decided against this move by the end of 2016.

In January 2017, Katzel voiced his concerns to the compliance team at AIG during an annual anti-fraud questionnaire AIG issues as part of its adherence to Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance. He specifically noted AIG executives would share confidential corporate information with competitors during bidding processes, and that those executives mislead the company’s management by undervaluing the potential value of the LOC spinoff. This, Katzel said, resulted in a purposeful destruction of an opportunity for AIG and shareholders to create some significant equity, even in a time when AIG was otherwise operating in the red. Executives destroyed documents that would have showcased this, and failed to properly manage conflicts of interest they had.

AIG began a thorough investigation into Katzel’s allegations, but by May 2017 he was fired, even after the company’s chief compliance officer said his concerns were justified. Katzel filed a complaint after his termination alleging Sarbanes-Oxley violations at the company related to the LOC spinoff issue.

If you are aware of any fraudulent activity within your workplace, you can blow the whistle on the wrongdoing and be afforded federal whistleblower protections. For more information about the steps you should take to proceed with your case, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group.

By Steve Kardell | Published December 21, 2020 | Posted in Fraud, Whistleblower Litigation | Tagged AIG, compliance, corporate fraud, fraud

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.