Jury begins deliberating in $1.9B Ohio fraud case

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal jury in Ohio has begun deliberating in the case of a former health-care financing executive accused of masterminding $1.9 billion in corporate fraud.

Lance Poulsen is the founder and former chief executive of National Century Financial Enterprises. He has been on trial on multiple corporate-fraud charges for the past month.

Prosecutors allege Poulsen fabricated data, moved money between accounts to hide shortfalls and misled the investors who funded his business model.

Poulsen says he never committed a crime and argues fraud was impossible because the suburban Columbus company was monitored by major auditing firms, law offices and banks.

Five other National Century executives were convicted of corporate-fraud charges in March.

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