The former chief executive of Refco Inc., one of the world’s biggest commodities brokerages, engaged in a conspiracy that caused Refco to sell $583 million in stock to the public based on “false and fraudulent” statements of its finances, an indictment charged Thursday.
The indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Manhattan accused Phillip R. Bennett and others of conspiring to commit securities fraud when they hid from auditors and investors losses that Refco and its customers had incurred in the financial markets.The indictment came the same day British commodities broker Man Group PLC announced it had won a bidding war to acquire Refco for $282 million in cash.
Refco, which went public in August, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 17, a week after it announced that a $430 million debt to the company owed by a firm controlled by the ousted chairman and CEO had been concealed.
