Marsh Executive Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges By Joseph A. Giannone NEW YORK (Reuters) - A senior vice president at Marsh & McLennan Cos. (MMC.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) insurance broker on Thursday pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's ongoing probe into fraud and bid-rigging in the insurance industry. Robert Stearns pleaded guilty before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice James Yates of scheming to defraud in the first degree -- a class E felony which carries a maximum sentence of 16 months to four years in state prison, Spitzer's office said. Stearns, who agreed to testify in future cases, became the first Marsh employee convicted as part of Spitzer's investigation into fraud and bid-rigging in the insurance business. "We are saddened by this development," Marsh & McLennan said in a statement. "We have been and will continue to cooperate fully with the office of the attorney general in its investigation. We are committed to resolving the company's legal issues and to serving our clients with the highest standards of transparency and ethics." According to the criminal complaint, Stearns admitted that from 2002 to 2004 he instructed various insurance companies to submit specific bids for insurance coverage that were designed to be too high to prevail. These quotes were referred to as "backup" or "B" quotes Stearns would pass these bids to Marsh clients, who thought they were getting competitive quotes, under fraudulent pretenses. Spitzer's office, in the course of its nine-month old investigation, said that several major insurance companies complied with these requests. WIDENING PROBE Since Spitzer filed his landmark lawsuit against Marsh & McLennan on Oct. 14, two executives at American International Group (AIG.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) , two from Zurich American Insurance Co. (ZURN.VX: Quote , Profile , Research ) and one from ACE Ltd. (ACE.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) have entered pleas on similar charges. These five are also cooperating with the probe, Spitzer's office said. By orchestrating such bogus bids, Marsh, the world's largest insurance broker, would determine which insurers won business from clients. The scheme also protected incumbent carriers when their business was up for renewal and maximized Marsh's fees, Spitzer's office said, citing e-mails, notes, memos and statements made by Stearns and his associates.     Continued ... Quelle "Marsh Executive Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges" : reuters.com Main page for "Marsh Executive Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges"