Segal Doesn’t Support SegalSupport.com

May 3, 2004

A spokeswoman for embattled Chicago broker Michael Segal said the Near North National Group CEO has no connection to and does not condone the recently launched SegalSupport.com Web site.

Segal is currently on trial in federal court on mail fraud and racketeering charges related to the alleged embezzlement of more than $20 million from his firm’s premium fund trust account and the Web site was launched anonymously in support of Segal’s innocence. Long-time Segal observers suspected that he might have some involvement with the site, but spokeswoman Kitty Kurth told Insurance Journal it isn’t so.

“Neither Mr. Segal nor Near North National Group have any direct or indirect knowledge of or connection to this Web site,” Kurth said. “They do not condone its existence.”

The site contains a disclaimer at the bottom of its home page that reads as follows: “The website, SegalSupport.com, is owned and operated by a private concern not associated in any way with Michael Segal or any of his former companies, employees, or families thereof” [sic].