WellCare CEO Has Seen This Movie Before

OKLAHOMA CITY -- WellCare (WCG Quote) investors, already nervous about tight-lipped company leaders, better hope that history doesn't repeat itself.

Weeks after government officials swarmed its Florida headquarters, WellCare still has offered no clues about the focus or potential impact of a sweeping investigation of the company. Despite that uncertainty, investors have taken comfort in the fact that WellCare boasts a strong track record and seems to employ a topnotch management team. Up to now, in fact, WellCare has ranked as a perennial Wall Street favorite known for its ability to make a fortune providing government-subsidized health insurance for the elderly and the poor.

But past disasters at companies tied to WellCare leaders, including CEO Todd Farha, suggest that current investor confidence could prove misplaced. Notably, before taking over at WellCare -- and transforming the company into a Wall Street darling -- Farha worked for two booming health insurers that suffered spectacular collapses.

TheStreet.com sought input from WellCare for this story. But as a matter of policy, the company sticks with public disclosures about its executives' employment histories and declines to elaborate any further on personnel matters.

Still, the public record says plenty.

First, back in the early 1990s, Farha worked alongside his cousin Alif Hourani (now deemed an "independent" member of WellCare's audit committee) at Physician Corporation of America. Although PCA seemed to be in good shape when Farha departed, the company was fighting for survival just a few years later.