First Pension Investors Reach Settlement

Hundreds of mostly Southern Californian investors who lost about $136 million in fraud-ridden First Pension Corp. have settled with former accounting giant Coopers & Lybrand, one of the two remaining defendants in the 6-year-old case. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. In late July, a Superior Court jury determined that Coopers, which has since merged to become PricewaterhouseCoopers, and partner Hal Hurwitz misrepresented First Pension’s financial condition, concealed material information and abetted the company’s managers in the fraud. By agreeing to settle with about 350 plaintiffs Coopers & Lybrand avoided the damages phase of the trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday.