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A 91-year-old former chief executive of insurance company AIG seems eager to defend himself against civil fraud charges in New York.

Maurice Greenberg recalled in testimony in state Supreme Court on Tuesday what he could from decades of leading American International Group Inc.

The state claims Greenberg manipulated AIG's accounting records in 2000 and 2001 to hide millions of dollars in losses from investors.

Greenberg testified in the juryless trial that the troubled auto warranty program in those years was a tiny part of a "huge business." He says he got involved in fixing the program to "teach people a lesson."

Defense lawyer David Boies says there's no evidence to show Greenberg committed wrongdoing.

The state wants to ban Greenberg from working in the securities industry.