TUSCUMBIA, Ala. (WAAY) - The head of National Steel Car Limited has pleaded not guilty to charges that he planned to defraud Retirement Systems of Alabama of $350 million.
Company chairman and CEO Greg Aziz, 65, filed a written waiver of arraignment and a motion to dismiss, court officials told the TimesDaily.
Aziz is out of jail on $1 million bail while waiting for his securities fraud case to proceed in Colbert County.
Aziz was arrested Nov. 13 at a Chicago airport after being indicted on 10 counts of securities fraud. He is accused of giving fraudulent information in connection with a loan from RSA that helped build a National Alabama railcar plant in the Barton Riverfront Industrial Park.
The plant was supposed to provide 1,800 jobs, but never reached 200. RSA eventually took over the plant and leased it out to other companies.
Aziz faces up to 10 years in prison on each count if convicted. As part of his bond, he will be monitored electronically and must remain in Lauderdale, Colbert or Lawrence counties.
