A former managing director at Marsh & McLennan Companies has joined the line up of executives pleading guilty to criminal charges in connection with the New York attorney general's investigation into the US broking industry.
Kathryn Winter pleaded guilty before a New York County Supreme Court to the crime of scheme to defraud in the first degree on Friday.
Winter admitted that during a period from 2001 to 2004, she instructed insurance carriers to submit non-competitive bids for insurance business, and that such bids were conveyed to Marsh clients under false and fraudulent pretences.
The New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer said the non-competitive bids allowed Marsh to control the market, protect incumbent insurance carriers when their business was up for renewal, and maximise profits.
Winter is the tenth executive to plead guilty to criminal charges.