Deloitte, banks settle with Adelphia investors

Auditing firm Deloitte & Touche, Bank of America Corp. and 38 other banks have agreed to pay a total of $455 million to settle a lawsuit by investors in Adelphia Communications Corp.

Adelphia filed for bankruptcy protection in 2002 after an accounting fraud that led to the convictions of founder John J. Rigas and his son Timothy.

Investors had claimed losses as high as $5.5 billion, alleging that Deloitte & Touche, which audited Adelphia’s books, and the banks, which underwrote stock offerings, contributed to the fraud. Neither Deloitte nor the banks admitted wrongdoing.

Adelphia sold its cable properties, including those in Southern California, to Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc.