Echos of Boston Chicken and Enron?
New research report on Erie makes the eerie comparisons.
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Quick update on Erie Indemnity ERIE 0.00%↑, no stranger to On the Street/Red Flag Alerts subscribers…
Badger Consulting, run by Tom Chanos – brother of short-seller Jim Chanos – is out with a new report on Erie that includes Jim’s analysis and comments.
In my last report, I questioned the arcane but significantly bizarre accounting quagmire simmering beneath the surface at Erie, which either is or is not an insurance company – depending on how you view it. A big question I raised was whether it is or isn’t a variable interest entity, or VIE.

Now Hear This…
Badger goes considerably deeper, highlighting traits it says are similar to Boston Chicken and Enron… two oldies but goldies Jim knows something about.
One focus of Badger’s report is Erie’s hazy relationship with the Erie Insurance Exchange, a related party that pays Erie a 25% fee to act as its attorney-in-fact.
Some of the report’s key points, along with Jim’s pointed counterclaim to the company’s comments…