Fremont stock sold before slide

Fremont General Corp. executives sold about $8.8 million of stock in January before the company became engulfed in the sub-prime mortgage debacle, according to regulatory filings.

Seven Fremont executives, including Chief Executive Louis J. Rampino, reported selling a combined 543,746 shares back to the company Jan. 4, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a company spokesman.

The sales, which took place under a program that allows executives to sell restricted shares back to Fremont, were made at a price of $16.21 a share, the closing price on Dec. 29. Fremont shares slipped 19 cents to $8.04 on Wednesday.

Shares of Santa Monica-based Fremont began to slide in late February after the company warned that it wouldn’t file its annual report on time. The shares reached a low of $5.55 on March 5 after the real estate lender said it intended to exit the sub-prime lending market. Fremont also disclosed then that it had received a proposed cease-and-desist order from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that called for Fremont to restrict its sub-prime lending business.

“Executives had no knowledge of the FDIC’s proposed cease-and-desist order” at the time they decided to sell the shares, James B. Lucas, a spokesman for Fremont, said in an e-mail.

Lucas said that company executives can choose to sell restricted shares back to the company’s benefit plan’s trust. The executives made their decision before Dec. 31, 2006, Lucas said.

Rampino sold 151,164 shares valued around $2.45 million, the most of all seven company insiders. He now has direct ownership of 632,484 shares and indirect ownership of 179,095 shares, according to an SEC filing late Monday. Chairman James A. McIntyre sold $2.31 million worth, and Chief Operating Officer Wayne R. Bailey sold shares worth $1.98 million.