International Metals Investment Co

The flamboyant Hunt brothers of Texas, whose combined riches once totaled an estimated $6 billion, were found guilty in federal court Saturday of attempting to illegally corner the silver market eight years ago--a move that marked the beginning of a downward financial spiral that has eroded much of their vast fortune.

The flamboyant Hunt brothers of Texas, whose combined riches once totaled an estimated $6 billion, were found guilty in federal court Saturday of attempting to illegally corner the silver market eight years ago--a move that marked the beginning of a downward financial spiral that has eroded much of their vast fortune.

Texas oil tycoon Nelson Bunker Hunt denied plotting to corner the world silver market in 1979-80, stating under oath Wednesday: "I never participated in any conspiracy with anybody at any time." Hunt and his two younger brothers are being sued for $150 million by a South American silver company that claims the Hunts manipulated the world silver market eight years ago.

Texas oil tycoon Nelson Bunker Hunt stuck to his story Thursday that he invested in silver because of unstable world political conditions--and not as part of a scheme to corner the market. In his third day on the witness stand, Hunt came under the scrutiny of plaintiff's attorney Mark Cymrot, but the one-time billionaire stubbornly held his ground.

Federal regulators Thursday charged controversial Texas millionaires Nelson Bunker Hunt and W. Herbert Hunt and four associates with having manipulated the silver futures market in 1979 and 1980 in a scheme that ultimately produced more than $1 billion in losses for the two Hunt brothers and threatened the stability of a major brokerage house. The administrative complaint by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has been awaited for years since the Hunt's celebrated buying spree.

Federal regulators are preparing to resume proceedings accusing the Hunt brothers of Texas of manipulating the silver futures market now that the jury in a federal court case in New York has ruled that the brothers participated in a conspiracy to corner the silver market in 1979 and 1980.