SANTA MONICA, CA — A consumer group called on the U.S. Justice
Department to form a special FBI unit to investigate the controversial
bonuses being paid to executives at AIG.

Consumer Watchdog said in a written statement Wednesday that the bureau
should take the lead in determining whether there was any misconduct on
the part of American Insurance Group employees who claim they have a
contractual right to a bonus.

The California organization said the investigators should determine if
any laws were broken and if AIG shareholders were defrauded.

"Anybody at AIG who wants to collect a bonus should be alerted that it
will be delivered by an FBI agent along with a long list of questions,"
said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court.

Court said performance bonuses made little sense since the company
likely would have folded without the lifeline provided by the U.S.
government.