A wave of suspensions and sackings hits a $7 trillion industry "The full extent of this complicated fraud is not yet known," said Eliot Spitzer, New York state's attorney-general, when he launched an investigation into mutual-fund fraud on September 3rd. A month on, it still isn't. The industry, which oversees $7 trillion of Americans' assets, is fighting for its reputation. Several dozen class-action lawsuits have already been filed. Mutual funds and their investors are wondering what Mr Spitzer's probe, and another by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will unearth. So far one of the four firms cited in Mr Spitzer's original complaint, Bank of America, has fired three employees. Another, Strong Capital, said late last month that it would make "appropriate reimbursements" to clients if an internal review finds they have been harmed. Merrill Lynch, Prudential and Alliance Capital have also fired or suspended staff. Following a second complaint by Mr Spitzer, on October 2nd a former trader at Millennium Partners, a hedge fund, pleaded guilty to securities fraud. The chief executive of Security Trust, another company the attorney-general is after, resigned on October 6th. Others have received subpoenas from Mr Spitzer.
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