The SEC has sued three former Wellcare Health Plan executives over claims that they sold $91 million of shares while withholding money the firm was required to spend on programs for low-income people. Todd Farha, who was chief executive officer, Paul Behrens, his chief financial officer, and Thaddeus Bereday, who served as general counsel, sold 1.6 million WellCare shares from 2003 to 2007 while funneling premiums through an internal subsidiary to evade Florida’s regulatory framework, the SEC said in a Florida lawsuit, Jan. 9. The excess premiums, which were counted as revenue, materially inflated net income and diluted earnings per share reported in the Tampa, Florida-based company’s public financial filings, the SEC said. The three executives stepped down in 2008 amid an FBI investigation of the fraud claims. The SEC is seeking reimbursement of incentive-based and equity-based compensation from Farha and Behrens, and wants to bar all three men from serving as officers or directors of public companies, according to the complaint.  [SEC 1/10/12]