California Attorney General Jerry Brown has sued two former officials of CalPERS, the nation’s largest public pension fund, on civil charges of fraud, The Associated Press reports.
The lawsuit, announced Thursday, is the product of an investigation into the role of so-called placement agents. Those are middlemen hired by money-management firms to help them win business with investors.
The lawsuit file in state court in Los Angeles says former CalPERS chief executive Federico Buenrostro Jr. accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from Alfred Villalobos, a former CalPERS board member turned placement agent.
The lawsuit says Villalobos’ company received at least $47 million in fees for steering CalPERS investments to his clients. It accuses both men of violating securities law.
Telephone messages left for them were not immediately returned.
