And the Bailout Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Begins…
AIG execs’ retreat after bailout angers lawmakers:
Days after it got a federal bailout, American International Group Inc. spent $440,000 on a posh California retreat for its executives, complete with spa treatments, banquets and golf outings, according to lawmakers investigating the company’s meltdown.
AIG sent its executives to the coastal St. Regis resort south of Los Angeles even as the company tapped into an $85 billion loan from the government it needed to stave off bankruptcy. The resort tab included $23,380 worth of spa treatments for AIG employees, according to invoices the resort turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
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“Average Americans are suffering economically. They’re losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance,” the committee’s chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., scolded the company during a lengthy opening statement at a hearing Tuesday. “Yet less than one week after the taxpayers rescued AIG, company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most exclusive resorts in the nation.”
This Fox article has a link to the full hotel bill and it states:
According to the receipt from the St. Regis, the eight-day company retreat was a lavish one – $139,000 was spent on hotel rooms, while even more money — $147,301 — was spent on banquets. Another $23,380 was spent on undisclosed spa treatments and another $6,939 was spent on golf. A full $9,980 was spent on room service and food and cocktails at the hotel lounge.
Obama was quoted saying…
“Those executives should be fired,” Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said at a debate with Sen. John McCain on Tuesday, referring to the retreat participants. Obama also said AIG should give the Treasury $440,000 to cover the costs of the retreat.
Not only should they be fired and forced to pay back every dime, they should go to jail for fraud, waste, and abuse of tax payers dollars!! Ugh! This makes my blood boil!
For some reason, I think this is only the beginning. *sigh*
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Have you read the Fabulous Financials comment policy lately?
Why did I not see this coming??? I’m truly not surprised. Give greedy people even more money after they make stupid mistakes and you should expect no less.
I just read and article on this very thing. Too say I’m as angry as you are sounds like I’m a copy cat… I’ll be the copy cat this time.
My blood it is boiling too!
*Shakes Head*
ditto to the above. Horrific.
;(
Does anyone truly have an example of Big Government actually working? These bailouts are a ripoff from the start. This little party was nothing though. Wait until we have the $700,000,000,000 party rolling.
I had a feeling ish like this would be going down after the bailout was passed….I mean, think about it - the CIC of the USA is taking our hard earned dollars and stupidly wasting them. It doesn’t surprise me that he won’t step in and say “Hey guys, this money’s for America, not for you idiots who are greedy” Nope, instead he just cut them a big ol fat check and said “Party on!” …Way to go…..
SMDH. I’m not surprised at what these Execs have done. I just wonder how it will all play out. Will it be swept under the rug as so many other things that some businesses get away w/ or will there be repercussions?
dont make any damn sense.. pissed me off and they need to pay back ALL THE DAMN MONEY fugg a bailout!!!
I am appalled but not really surprised at the excess. What does surprise me is that somebody is checking and reporting it! Thank goodness for that. Maybe once those greedy pigs figure out that we are watching them and will rake them over the coals for this kind of behavior they will stop. But this will only if the outrage translates into action by our politicians. Phew, hose me down, I’m think I’m winding up for a grade A rant.
Oh to be a fly on the wall at that AIG discussion. I bet (hope!) somebody skipped it because it was such an incredibly stupid idea.
When I heard about that excursion I started seeing red. My prayer is that exposing AIG will prevent others from doing the same - although I doubt that will happen. This is ridiculous!!!
AIG was always a problem child, SEC had investigation going on few years back-financials had to be restated. I am not surprised about anything any more. Lehman Brothers had multi million severance packages approved for three of its execs (two were unvoluntary termination and one was a voluntary) just days before they collapsed. Their execs bonuses are outrageous- and they had the nerve to ask Feds to bail them out as well. Lehmans president walked away with hundreds of millions in compensation over the years he has been there. In any other country this nightmare would probably lead to some kind of revolution by now, lets just hope Obama gets elected and has a chance to get involved in that as well
What is really bad about this is not even that the company sent them…after all, if the goal was to get a gov’t bailout, they succeeded and were perhaps being awarded for their ability to work the system, sad as that is. (Hate the Game, not the Playa).
What is really bad is the hubris it takes to do something like this before the check is even cashed. Where were their Marketing/PR people to tell them that doing this was a REALLY bad idea? And if they told them, where was the common sense to listen?
Mr. Obama is correct. They should be fired…not necessarily because of the action as I am sure there are many companies on the edge that do fiscally irresponsible things like this and are accountable to their shareholders, but because of the timing and the impact the increasd oversight and additional PR problems will have on the company.
“$23,380 worth of spa treatments”
SingleMa, do you work for AIG? Or when you read this, did you send them your resume??
I know you love your mani-pedis!!
AIG just got another “loan” from gvmt-around $38 bln- nice right?
now we know who is pulling the strings of those puppets in Washington - AIG and the rest of them corrupt executives
All those hearing in Congress are just like corporate meetings with the same results- nothing ever materializes and nothing gets done
I’m sure it is things like that that helped them get into trouble. I know that is not the main cause but I’m sure it had something to do with it. Glad my tax dollars are going for a good cause (sarcasm).
Mr. Obama should be fired for supplying them with the cash. AIG is not the big problem here. This party was facilitated by the taxpayer because Congress gave them the money.
And now the Bush Administration wants to step in and oversee the banks…oh I can see where this is going. I’m taking my poorly valued dollar before it goes any lower, packing my bags and heading to Europe.
Earlier today, AIG announced an important policy change - one that we wanted to be sure you knew about.
A short time ago, our Chairman and CEO Ed Liddy said that he has ordered the immediate cancellation of all outside meetings, conferences, and recognition events across AIG, except those that are required by law or that are deemed absolutely critical to sustain our ongoing business needs.
Given AIG’s commitment to our customers, business partners, regulators, and American taxpayers, coupled with the new and very different challenges our company now faces, we take these responsibilities extremely seriously. Their trust is critical to our success. We recognize the need to be sensitive about all company expenditures.
As we move forward, we will continue our focus our efforts to pay back the $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as quickly as possible.
Hmm…ok. Put your money where your mouth is and do what you say you’re going to do. We’ll be watching you. [-SM]
Yeah, thats right SM!
From what I am seeing -AIG is two buildings away from me-does not look like they are in such a bad financial abyss-you should see their building that they build 2-3 years ago-it is a marvel of steel and glass-must have cost them few billion-sell the fugging building and rent a cheap place to conduct your business