TierOne auditors sued by investors in failed bank
Shareholders in failed TierOne bank sue KPMG auditors, saying they should have found losses
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Two KPMG auditors are now facing a lawsuit from TierOne Bank shareholders in addition to a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Lincoln Journal Star reports (http://bit.ly/Pu0WWf) both lawsuits say KPMG's John J. Aesoph of Omaha and Darren M. Bennett of Elkhorn didn't do enough to challenge TierOne's estimates of the value of real estate that the bank had loans on or had repossessed.
TierOne failed in 2010 after concealing the extent of its real estate losses. Its assets were sold to Great Western Bank.
The shareholder lawsuit was filed by the New York-based Rosen Law Firm that successfully sued TierOne. That lawsuit against the failed bank yielded a $3.1 million settlement.
KPMG has said the auditors are looking forward to defending their work.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
