Mozilo case sparks new scrutiny of CEO trading plans

The insider trading case against home loan entrepreneur Angelo Mozilo is sparking renewed questions about potential abuse of stock selling plans that were intended to be one of corporate executives' best defenses against accusations of improper trading.

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"On their face, these arrangements looked like a good solution to any problem of short-term manipulation that an executive looked prone to," said Todd Gershkowitz, senior vice president of pay advisory firm Farient Advisors in New York.

But "they can be modified and changed and terminated in relatively short order," he said. "It turns out that they may not be achieving their original purpose."