Chief Executive Robert Ferguson was sentenced to two years in prison

Former General Re Corp. Chief Executive Robert Ferguson was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday for helping American International Group Inc. (AIG) inflate its financial statements.Ferguson and four other insurance executives were convicted in February on charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud and false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission.Prosecutors said Ferguson and others facilitated two sham reinsurance transactions in 2000 and 2001 that allowed AIG to falsely inflate its reserves by $500 million, which helped the company boost its stock price.A federal judge in Connecticut, where the case was tried, found that AIG shareholders lost between $544 million and $597 million because of the fraud.AIG restated the transactions in 2005.In addition to the prison term, Ferguson was fined $200,000.