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Overseas Partners struggles to overcome loss of UPS premiums

May 31, 2000
Still suffering from the impact of losing its UPS shipper's risk account, Overseas Partners reported greatly reduced net income of $20.1 million or 16 cents per share for the quarter ended March 31 - 81 per cent less than the $105.5 million or 84 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Stirling Cooke under investigation by Lloyd’s of London

May 31, 2000
Stirling Cooke has disclosed that its UK-based subsidiaries are being investigated by Lloyd's of London following the apparent insolvency of a Lloyd's syndicate known as the Alan R. Bird syndicate. The Bird syndicate is believed to have become insolvent following an arbitration ruling on December 9, 1999 that rescinded reinsurance contracts with Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co., primarily on the grounds that Stirling Cooke, in its capacity as broker, had orchestrated an "abnormally tight" reinsurance spiral.

Mutual Risk to take $4.3 m first quarter charge

April 30, 2000
Mutual Risk Management announced on March 30 that it would take a first-quarter charge of $4.3 million or ten cents per share on a buy-back of subordinated debentures. The company stated that it had spent $107.7 million to buy back 5.25 per cent zero coupon subordinated debentures with a face value of $236 million.

John Head accused of self-interest by ESG Re shareholder

April 30, 2000
One of the major shareholders of Bermuda-based ESG Re has accused the company's chairman, John Head III, of overpaying himself while simultaneously ruining the company through mismanagement. The criticism of Head came in a letter from private investment management firm SC Fundamental LLC to the ESG Re's Board of Directors.

Fidelity mutual fund group takes gamble on Stirling Cooke

April 30, 2000
Boston-based Fidelity Management & Research Corp. has taken a gamble on beleaguered Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings and acquired 8.5 per cent of the company's outstanding common stock. Fidelity's shareholding, which is disclosed in Stirling Cooke's recent Proxy Statement filing, makes it the second biggest shareholder in Stirling Cooke after Goldman Sachs.

First International Bank of Grenada Ltd. et al v. David Marchant et al: Dismissal Order

April 19, 2000
Final Order of Dismissal in First International Bank of Grenada Ltd., of Grenada; International Depositors' Reinsurance Corporation Ltd., doing business as IDIC, of Nevis, and World Investors' Stock Exchange Ltd., of Grenada v. David Marchant and Offshore Business News & Research, Inc. at the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Superior National taken over by regulators, mystery over shredding machine

March 31, 2000
Superior National Insurance Group Inc., which recently settled its dispute with Bermuda-based Inter-Ocean Re over the non-payment of a $175 million claim, was taken over by regulators in California on March 3. "Financial examinations of Superior National undertaken by the Department revealed that the company was in hazardous financial condition and was severely under reserved," stated the Department of Insurance. 

Stirling Cooke reports $8.8 million loss amid costs of litigation

March 31, 2000
The cost of being involved in so many lawsuits is taking its toll on Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings, with the company reporting a net loss of $8.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 1999, compared with a profit of $3.9 million a year earlier.

Insurance agency alleges fraud against MRM

March 31, 2000
Mutual Risk Management is being sued for fraud and negligence by one of its biggest business producers, Kansas City-based insurance agency VCW Inc. In other news affecting the group, MRM has disclosed that it is involved in three arbitrations in Philadelphia with reinsurers which have allegedly refused to pay $6 million of claims.

Harris Organization associate deported from Panama

March 31, 2000
A fugitive American businessman who has been helping The Harris Organization run investment schemes through IBCs set up in the Bahamas and the BVI was deported this month from Panama to the US. Within days of his deportation, Brent A. Wagman was criminally indicted in Texas on charges of masterminding a scheme that defrauded mainly elderly victims of approximately $30 million.

Simon Samuels sets up yet another company doomed to failure

February 29, 2000
Simon J. Samuels, a former Bermuda resident who specializes in working for insurers with fake capital, has set up a new company in Nevada. He is a Director and Manager of R&W Management LLC, which was incorporated in Nevada on December 1, 1999.

Overseas Partners net income drops off with loss of UPS business

February 29, 2000
Overseas Partners Ltd., which has been badly affected by a US Tax Court ruling last year against its biggest client, UPS, has reported reduced earnings in 1999. The company reported net income of $232.8 million or $1.85 per share for the 12 months ended December 31, 1999, compared with $232.8 million or $1.85 per share in 1998.

Mutual Risk’s performance continues to decline

February 29, 2000
Mutual Risk Management's net income continued to fall in the fourth quarter of 1999, dropping to $8.18 million or 20 cents per share, compared with $16.2 million or 38 cents per share a year earlier. Although total revenues for the quarter increased by 15.4 per cent from $77.35 million to $89.29 million, total expenses went up even higher, by 38 per cent, from $59.28 million to $81.57 million.

Stirling Cooke lawsuit moved from New York to UK

February 29, 2000
Stirling Cooke's share price hit its highest level in several months following the decision of a New York judge to dismiss Odyssey Re's racketeering lawsuit against the company. Stirling Cooke's stock closed at $3.69 on February 29 - up by 47 per cent on the month. The major rise occurred after Judge Naomi Reice's decision on February 28 to dismiss Odyssey Re's lawsuit on the grounds that the United Kingdom was a more appropriate forum.

Transamerica wins second ‘spiral’ arbitration

January 31, 2000
California-based Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. has won a second arbitration over its refusal to pay multi-million dollar reinsurance claims on coverage brokered by Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings. The losing party was Alan R. Bird, on his own behalf and representing all members of Lloyd's Syndicate 103 for the 1993/94 years of account.

Suisse Security Bank & Trust accepts fraudulent client

January 31, 2000
Bahamas-based Suisse Security Bank & Trust has replaced Eurofed Bank, of Antigua, as the banker for the fraudulently run Accord Insurance group, we have been told.SSBT's decision to provide banking services to Accord, which claims to offer its clients "guaranteed" interest of up to 50 per cent per month, raises serious concerns about its due diligence procedures.

Alternative Risk Reinsurance Company Ltd.: An Analysis

January 31, 2000
Inside Bermuda can today disclose further details about a Cayman Islands-registered company that Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has been so reluctant to discuss. The reason might be because Alternative Risk Reinsurance Company Limited is a joint venture between Stirling Cooke and the individuals behind New Jersey-based Unicover Managers.

Harris Organization moves closer to collapse

January 31, 2000
There are increasing indications that The Harris Organization financial services group of Panama is edging closer to collapse. Several of the group's clients have contacted Offshore Alert recently to complain that their requests to redeem all or part of their investments have been ignored.

Bahamian jailed for 20 years for $50 million fraud

January 31, 2000
Bahamian businessman George Wilson was this month sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Texas judge after previously being convicted of 18 offences relating to a $50 million dollar fraud.

Say it ain’t so: Martin Hoffman solicits reinsurance in Bermuda

January 31, 2000
Dubious businessman Martin Hoffman has been soliciting reinsurance in Bermuda recently as a representative of First American Insurance Co., operating from New York, OffshoreAlert can disclose. And he is also operating another New York-based company called Wilton International Corporation, which describes itself as "a managing general underwriter and program manager that underwrites and manages international facultative property and marine business".

Wellington Bank & Trust – same scam, different name

January 31, 2000
Offshore Alert has uncovered another highly dubious Grenada-registered bank that is owned by a former bankrupt. Wellington Bank & Trust, which was incorporated on July 27, 1998, is owned by John Edward Brinker Jr. and Gary Joel Bentz, who are both based in Ohio.

Latest on massive Grenada banking fraud

January 31, 2000
Offshore Alert can this month reveal further disturbing details about the massive financial fraud that is being committed on the island of Grenada in what appears to be a joint effort between the island's government and the private sector. What is currently taking place in Grenada mirrors what happened in Montserrat in the late 1980s when approximately 300 'paper' banks established with phantom capital defrauded foreign clients of tens of millions of dollars before eventually being closed down by the UK police in 1989/90.

FIBG hooks up with Alexander’s World (Or could it be Wayne’s World?)

January 31, 2000
Two more companies have listed on the sham Grenada-registered World Investors' Stock Exchange, bringing the total number of listed issuers to approximately 20. They are Bahamas-registered Alexander Development International Corporation and St. Vincent-registered Molecular Waste Technologies Inc.

Alan Bird lawyer writes that Chubb has ‘deepest pocket’

January 31, 2000
The Alan Bird Syndicate's UK attorneys have discussed the possibility of suing the Chubb Insurance Group and Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings in the aftermath of its arbitration loss to Transamerica. Chubb, which previously lost a similar arbitration to Transamerica, is considered to be an attractive target because it has "the deepest pocket", while Stirling Cooke might escape an action because it was "highly probable that the company will eventually fold".

OffshoreAlert Awards For 1999

December 31, 1999
Annual OffshoreAlert Awards for: Worst Regulator, Worst Regulated Jurisdictions, Lie of the Year, Coward of the Year, Crooks of the Year, Jurisdiction in Most Need of a PR Make-Over, Most Small-Minded Decision, Most Arrogant Jurisdiction, Most Stupid Comments, Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Award, and Most Responsible Regulators.

BF&M settlement: A breakdown of who pays what

December 31, 1999
One of Bermuda's longest-running farces came to an end this month when the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company trial ended with an out-of-court settlement. Seven months into the trial, the corporate and individual defendants threw in the towel and appear to have given the liquidators of BFMIC virtually everything they were seeking.

Opinion Piece: Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance settlement

December 31, 1999
The cave-in by the defendants in the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company trial brings to an end one of the most disgraceful episodes in the history of the island's offshore business sector. Although the standard 'nobody admits any wrongdoing' clause was built into the settlement, it does not take a genius to figure out who won the lawsuit and who lost it.

UPS sued by customers over Overseas Partners ‘tax dodge’

November 30, 1999
A $14 billion lawsuit was filed this month against United Parcel Service of America Inc. on behalf of customers who have bought insurance for the past 16 years for packages shipped by the firm and reinsured through Overseas Partners Ltd.

MRM directors file to sell shares

November 30, 1999
Two directors of Mutual Risk Management - Jerry Rosenbloom and Allan Fulkerson - gave separate notice to the SEC on September 23 that they intended to each sell 20,000 of the company's shares. There has been no notification to the SEC that the shares have been sold which may indicate that the that the price dropped too steeply to meet their sell criteria.

Regulators refuse license application by Accord Insurance

November 30, 1999
Regulators in Antigua have turned down an application for an insurance license by Accord Insurance, which sells dubious investment products to the public. Despite the rejection, Accord is continuing to operate from the island, where it maintains an office on the Third Floor of the Bancorp Building, High Street, St. John's.

Annuity & Life Re/Scottish Annuity & Life comaprison

November 30, 1999
One decided to incorporate in Bermuda, the other chose the Cayman Islands. Both offer annuity and life insurance products, both opened for business in 1998 and both immediately went public. The similarities end there, though, as Annuity & Life Re, which is based in Bermuda and raised $370 million of start-up capital, and Scottish Annuity & Life Re Holdings, which is based in the Cayman Islands and raised $250 million, have enjoyed contrasting fortunes on NASDAQ since opening for business.

Q&A with Don Schuster, Stirling Cooke’s PR spokesman

November 30, 1999
Don Schuster, of The Torrenzano Group, of New York, was hired by Stirling Cooke earlier this year to improve its public relations, which, until that point, included a policy of not taking Inside Bermuda's telephone calls. However, as you should gather from a question and answer session below, the main change from the 'No Comment' days of Mark Cooke and Nicholas Brown, who have both been fired as officers in recent months, is that the company now takes more words to say not very much at all.

Stirling Cooke: Where did the $1.4 million go?

November 30, 1999
Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings has refused to explain a mysterious $1.4 million investment write-down that was disclosed in its latest 10Q filing with the SEC. The company is being so secretive about the write-down that it has created an irresistible impression that it has something to hide.

MRM and insiders snap up the company’s stock

October 31, 1999
Mutual Risk Management and its officers and directors have taken advantage of the recent massive collapse in the company's stock price by aggressively snapping up shares on the open market.

KPMG resigns as LaSalle Re auditor over independence issue

October 31, 1999
KPMG has resigned as auditor of LaSalle Re due to a conflict of interest.The accounting firm cited "a potential independence issue arising from a personal relationship between an officer of LaSalle Re and a member of the firm of KPMG not working on the LaSalle Re audit", stated a press release issued by the reinsurer.

Stirling Cooke applies to dismiss Odyssey Re’s amended complaint

October 31, 1999
Stirling Cooke Brown Holdings Ltd. has filed a motion to dismiss an amended RICO complaint filed against it by Odyssey Re at federal court in New York.The Bermuda-based broker/reinsurer claims that the amended complaint "contains no new causes of action against Stirling Cooke".

New-look Clarendon ends Eton Management contract

October 31, 1999
The Clarendon Insurance Group has terminated a substantial business production agreement with New York-based Eton Management, which is run by notorious businessman Martin Hoffman.

American Re claims ‘deception’ regarding coverage for Business Insurance Group

October 31, 1999
American Re has claimed it was duped into providing $175 million of workers' compensation reinsurance coverage for Superior National Insurance Company subsidiary Business Insurance Group.The allegation is contained in American Re's answer to a lawsuit brought against it and Bermuda-based Inter-Ocean Reinsurance Company by Superior National Insurance Company in the Superior Court of California.

FIBG latest: Dodgy share offerings and more ‘paper’ firms list on sham stock exchange

October 31, 1999
The latest phase of what is turning out to be one of the most extravagant offshore frauds ever involves the sale of shares over the Internet, supposedly to finance a 120-room luxury resort hotel in Grenada and an on-line casino. Investors in the resort project are "guaranteed" annual dividends of between 25-30 per cent, depending on the amount invested, even before anything has been built, while shareholders of the casino venture are promised 35 per cent annually.

Superior National’s aggressive tactics in dispute with Inter-Ocean Re

September 30, 1999
Industry watchers have been taken aback by the aggressive strategy adopted by Superior National Insurance Group Inc. in its $175 million contract dispute with Inter-Ocean Re and Inter-Ocean's principal shareholder, American Re-Insurance Company.Not content to wait for the outcome of arbitration proceedings that are due to be held soon in New York, Superior National filed a lawsuit against both parties in Los Angeles County Superior Court on September 7 in which they seek $200 million.

Inter-Ocean refutes Superior National’s ‘false’ allegations

September 30, 1999
Inside Bermuda has received a letter from Inter-Ocean President Mervin Holland in response to allegations made to the media about his company by Superior National Insurance Company President Chris Seaman.Holland was particularly upset at an article that appeared in The Royal Gazette newspaper on September 23 headlined: "Inter-Ocean tried to mug us - US insurer."

Stirling Cooke’s little-known Cayman affiliate

September 30, 1999
The Bermuda-based Stirling Cooke insurance group is a shareholder in a little-known reinsurer called Alternative Risk Reinsurance Company Limited that is registered in the Cayman Islands and managed by Mutual Risk Management (Cayman) Limited.

FIBG ‘auditor’ has no CPA licence, co-owner indicted in US

September 30, 1999
Offshore Alert can this month report further disturbing revelations about the First International Bank of Grenada that make a mockery of the island as a legitimate financial centre.One of the most shocking discoveries is that the annual financial statement filed recently by the bank with regulators was signed by a former bankrupt with a criminal record who is passing himself off as a CPA.Nevada-based accountant Kenneth Nelson Craig had his CPA licence revoked in the US in 1996 after committing an appalling number of offences, including swindling three clients out of $81,000.Equally disturbing is news that one of FIBG's owners, Roger V. Cagle, has been criminally indicted in New Jersey on charges of racketeering, bribery and conspiracy to defraud the United States.