Richard S. Fuld, Jr.: Lehman's chairman and chief executive

analysisAccording to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's announcement of March 28, 2005, which elected him one of its three Class B directors, Fuld joined Lehman Brothers in 1969, was a vice chairman of Shearson Lehman Brothers from 1984 to 1990 and president and co-chief executive of its Lehman Brothers Division from 1990 to 1993, then president and chief operating officer, chief executive of LBHI from 1993 and chairman of its board from 1994; he chaired Lehman's Executive Committee and had been a director of Lehman Brothers Inc. since 1984 and of LBHI since 1990. A company-history reference names him, with J. Tomilson Hill III, as head of the Lehman Brothers institutional group formed in the 1990 reorganisation. ^{1 2}

analysisIn November 2007 LBHI listed him as chairman and chief executive of both LBHI and Lehman Brothers Inc. An online encyclopedia article on Scott Freidheim describes Freidheim's work from 1996 in the office of chairman Richard S. Fuld Jr. ^{3 4}

analysisThe bankruptcy examiner concluded that Lehman's business decisions were within the business judgment rule, but that the decision not to disclose the effects of Repo 105 gave rise to colorable claims against the senior officers who oversaw and certified misleading financial statements: Fuld as chief executive and chief financial officers Christopher O'Meara, Erin M. Callan and Ian T. Lowitt, with further colorable claims against the auditor Ernst & Young. A colorable claim, in the examiner's definition, is one supported by sufficient credible evidence for a finding by a trier of fact; he stated that he was not the ultimate decision-maker and that such a finding neither precludes defenses nor predicts how a court would rule. Before finalising he told counsel for each officer the basis of the potential findings and met them; he wrote that he was directed to credible facts and arguments that might support successful defenses, but that they did not change his conclusion. The findings were not themselves adjudicated. In July 2011, ruling on motions to dismiss, the court hearing the investor class action held that the investors had sufficiently alleged securities claims against former officers and directors, Ernst & Young and underwriters, though according to lead counsel the claims against Ernst & Young survived only in part; those claims were settled for $90 million by the former officers and nine former directors (approved May 24, 2012) and $99 million by Ernst & Young (2013-2014). ^{1 2 3}

analysisFuld was among the former officers sued in the investor class actions under the securities laws, consolidated before Judge Lewis A. Kaplan as In re Lehman Brothers Equity/Debt Securities Litigation; one complaint against him and others was filed on September 24, 2008. The defendants moved to dismiss in June 2010, and in July 2011, ruling on those motions, the court sustained the claims in large part. The court approved a $90 million settlement with him, four other former officers and nine former directors on May 24, 2012; underwriters, UBS Financial Services and Ernst & Young settled separately, for $417 million, $120 million and $99 million. The cases were resolved by settlements, not by findings of liability. An online encyclopedia article reports that in October 2008 he was among 12 Lehman executives who received grand jury subpoenas in three federal criminal investigations into alleged securities fraud connected with the collapse, and that he testified before a House committee on October 6, 2008; a subpoena is a demand for evidence, not a charge, and the article names no charges. No criminal charge appears in the retained record; in 2015 the New York Attorney General stated that no other law enforcement authority had brought an enforcement action over the collapse, and a 2014 court declaration quotes a newspaper report that prosecutors and the FBI lost interest in the case. ^{3 2 4 5}

analysisAccording to the same article, Fuld said in March 2009 that he had joined Matrix Advisors in New York, and from May 2010 to early 2012 he was registered with FINRA as employed by Legend Securities. Matrix Private Capital Group, founded in 2016, describes him on its website as its founder, chairman and chief executive. ^{1 2}