National Century CEO Lance Poulsen 65, is standing trial in U.S. District Court in Columbus on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud

National Century CEO Lance Poulsen 65, is standing trial in U.S. District Court in Columbus on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering relating to the firm’s 2002 collapse into bankruptcy. The government has alleged as much as $2.84 billion in investor money was missing when National Century collapsed, a result of alleged self-dealing on the part of Poulsen and other National Century executives.
Considered a lender of last resort, National Century purchased accounts receivable from health-care providers at a discount in exchange for quick cash the provider could use to pay bills. National Century then packaged the receivables as bonds to sell to investors. For some companies, however, National Century didn’t actually purchase receivables, Bily said. It just advanced funds. Six companies that were either owned completely or partially by Poulsen and National Century’s two other owners often received such advances, Bily said.The government has alleged National Century over-funded health-care companies owned by Poulsen and other company principals in a ploy to enrich themselves.When National Century advanced cash to a health-care company without collateral, Bily said her department made sure to process the requests just as it would legitimate ones so as not to “raise any red flags” with bank trustees who oversaw reserve accounts designed to protect investors. By late 1999 and early 2000, Bily said Poulsen directed her finance department to plug fake numbers into a National Century mainframe computer to make sure that the company’s books remained balanced.