The Wheels of Justice Turn Imperceptibly

But still they turn.

Before Enron, before Worldcom, before HealthSouth, there was Cendant.

I worked on this investigation more than 8 years ago, just after graduating from college.  As other frauds have come and gone, executives tried, convicted, sentenced, incarcerated (and in some cases shuffled loose the mortal coil and posthumously unconvicted), and even released back into society, Cendant's former Chairman Walter Forbes has until now skated through without conviction.  The fraud Forbes participated in was the largest in history at the time and it destroyed billions of dollars in shareholder value.

So this week's guilty verdict was a long time coming.

A jury found former Cendant Corp. Chairman Walter Forbes guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of making false statements Tuesday in a massive fraud scheme that cost the travel and real estate company and its investors more than $3 billion.

The case was being tried after two previous juries deadlocked.

Prosecutors say that Forbes participated in a scheme to inflate the stock of Cendant's predecessor, CUC International, by $500 million. The fraud was reported in 1998, causing Cendant's market value to drop by $14 billion in one day.

Forbes has argued he knew nothing about the fraud. His co-defendant, former Cendant Vice Chairman E. Kirk Shelton, was convicted last year of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and making false statements to the SEC.