California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi has taken legal action against Santa Monica-based Fremont General Corp. trying to force it to pay more to help bail out its failed workers compensation unit, the company said Friday.

Garamendi filed an amended complaint May 2 against Fremont on behalf of the company’s insolvent workers compensation insurance subsidiary, Fremont Indemnity Co., which the California Insurance Guarantee Association rescued two years ago during the height of the state workers’ compensation crisis.

The commissioner alleges in the amended complaint that Fremont concealed and misappropriated assets and improperly accounted for losses from the unit to lower its tax liability.

In January, a Superior Court judge ruled in an earlier suit brought by Garamendi that Fremont had properly accounted for its assets and losses, but agreed to allow an amended complaint on certain issues.

Fremont General refused to make an executive available for comment, but in a press release stated it “continues to believe that this litigation is without merit and will vigorously defend against it.”

Calls to state Department of Insurance weren’t returned.

The dispute dates back to June 2003 when the insurance department took over Fremont’s troubled workers comp business after it became insolvent. Under an earlier agreement, that action released Fremont from an obligation to pump up to $73 million into the ailing unit even though the company had been allowed to keep more than $200 million in tax loss carryforwards stemming from its workers’ comp losses. The carryforwards allowed the company to reduce its tax burden on its other, profitable lines of business.