Fraud Alleged in Sale of Clayton to Berkshire

Executives of mobile-home maker Clayton Homes Inc. were accused by investors of altering shareholder proxy ballots to help billionaire investor Warren Buffett acquire the firm for $1.7 billion. Clayton Homes denied the claims.

Shareholders who sued to block the sale have “uncovered evidence that a number of the proxies by which defendants claimed approval of the proposed acquisition have been altered,” said David Duggan, a lawyer representing the Denver Area Meat Cutters & Employers Pension Plan, investors in Clayton Homes. His claims were made in court papers. The group hopes to stop Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. from completing its purchase of Clayton Homes.