A federal court has approved the distribution of $843 million to more than 257,000 harmed investors stemming from an American International Group SEC accounting fraud enforcement action. The SEC charged AIG with accounting fraud on Feb. 9, 2006, alleging that the company materially falsified its financial statements from at least 2000 until 2005 through a variety of sham transactions and entities and reported materially false and misleading information about its financial condition. The court entered a final judgment against AIG on Feb. 17, 2006, to which AIG consented without admitting or denying the allegations. Pursuant to the final judgment, AIG paid a total of $800 million ($700 million in disgorgement and $100 million in penalties). The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order on June 14, 2007, authorizing the commission to establish a fair fund to include all of the funds paid by AIG. –[email protected]