The Moss Adams-Frederick Berg connection, part two: CPAs to fight suit
Office Hours posted yesterday reports that a trustee was suing accounting firm Moss Adams for about $150 million related to a fraud and bankruptcy of Seattle-based Meridian Mortage.
Today the news is Moss Adams officials assert they'll fight the suit and insist they performed auditing for Meridian according to all industry standards.
Moss Adams is based in Seattle, and has a large office in downtown Spokane.
The suit follows a massive bankruptcy filed by Frederick Darren Berg, who managed Meridian and is accused of creating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of hundreds of millions of dollars.
As reported in Thursday's Seattle Times, Moss Adams said in a statement it will "vigorously defend against any allegations of wrongdoing."
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, alleges the large CPA firm wrongly issued "clean" audit reports for six of the Meridian funds at various times between 2001 and 2007.
The other Spokane connection to F.D. Berg is the recent announcement that his former luxury bus company, MTR Western, has expanded to Spokane and North Idaho. Last week we noted the company is adding coaches for sports teams and tours.
A Seattle company bought MTR Western earlier this year for about $5 million after Berg filed for bankruptcy, and after he pleaded guilty to fraud charges in August, acknowledging that he diverted approximately $100 million for his own purposes.
He's scheduled to be sentenced next month.