A crook who sold millions of dollars worth of medical malpractice insurance policies to US abortion clinics from a fictitious company which claimed to be based in Bermuda is facing a prison stretch.

William A. Ledee, 63, of Atlanta, who admitted fraud and money laundering at the weekend, was brought to justice in part due to information passed to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by Bermudian authorities.

Police on the Island launched an investigation into Ledee for money laundering before the FBI began its inquiry. The commercial crime department of Bermuda Police Service restrained his assets and confiscated $9 million, which was delivered to the United States Marshals? Seized Assets Fund.

Attorney General Larry Mussenden said last night that Bermuda has requested that it receive a share of the confiscated funds from the US Asset Forfeiture Office after the identifiable victims of the fraudulent insurance scheme have been reimbursed.

Ledee was part of a $24 million scam which saw doctors and other healthcare providers conned into buying malpractice insurance policies which provided no real coverage, had no loss reserves and other assets required by law for legitimate insurance companies.

He headed a sham firm ? Professional Liability Insurance Corp (PLIC) ? which claimed to be based on the Island but whose listed business address was no more than a private mailbox.

Ledee has agreed to forfeit $10 million in cash and property as part of a plea bargain in the federal district court in Atlanta. The agreement includes a maximum jail term of seven years and six months. He also pleaded guilty to selling insurance after being convicted of a felony crime involving dishonesty.

Sen. Mussenden said last night that his Chambers and the Bermuda Monetary Authority co-operated with the FBI, along with Police.

?In the case of Ledee, vital evidence was delivered to the United States Department of Justice, leading to his conviction,? he said.

?I know I speak for the rest of the Government by congratulating all those involved in this investigation.?

Finance Minister Paula Cox said local authorities had done a sterling job. She added that the financial services sector should continue to play its part in protecting Bermuda?s reputation.

?Licensed entities and their service providers need to undertake a thorough analysis of the actual and potential risks to which they are exposed and organise themselves to tackle them effectively,? she said.

The fraud involved companies claiming to be based in Bermuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines which were the subject of cease and desist proceedings issued by numerous state insurance departments? to prevent them from issuing insurance policies.

US Attorney David E. Nahmias was reported in the Atlanta Business Chronicle as saying that the operation victimised more than a thousand people, many of them doctors who needed the insurance coverage to provide critical care for their patients.

?This defendant compromised the integrity of the entire system by his greed,? he said.