
The lawsuit, filed in May 2009, alleged Lehman withheld information with the intent to deceive material facts in connection with the various securities it sold to Washington, including the true value and risky nature of its mortgage-related assets. The lawsuit also claimed that Lehman's financial statements failed to comply with applicable accounting standards. Specifically, Lehman engaged in a practice known as “Repo 105,” whereby they transferred billions of dollars of assets each quarter and accounted for them as sales of assets as opposed to financings. This accounting maneuver gave the illusion Lehman was more financially stable than it was. WSIB purchased Lehman bonds between 2006 and mid-2008. When Lehman declared bankruptcy, WSIB liquidated its holdings and recorded losses of more than $92 million on these bonds.