Investors sue Apple over stock option grants
497662
Apple Computer Inc  on  Wednesday said two lawsuits have been filed against the  company, one in federal district court and another in state  court in northern California, over its awarding to stock option  grants.
28804
Apple Computer has sued three software developers, contending they distributed versions of its OS X computer operating system on the Internet.
520851
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was aware of the company's practice of backdating stock-option grants but unaware of the accounting implications, the company said Wednesday.
222196
(InfoWorld) - Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to give a deposition in the stock option backdating lawsuit against former Apple General Counsel, Nancy Heinen. Citing two sources familiar with the case,Â Bloomberg reportsÂ that the subpoena is not part of an SEC investigation. Jobs' testimony is required as part of aÂ lawsuit brought against Heinen by the SECÂ in April 2007. Heinen is the only former Apple executive charged in the backdating scandal.Â Apple's internal investigation cleared all current executivesÂ of any wrongdoing and the SEC reached a deal with former CFO Fred Anderson in the case. Apple representatives were not immediately available to comment. The SEC says that Heinen granted 4.8 million options to six Apple executives, including herself, Anderson and CEO Steve Jobs, in February 2001. To avoid reporting an US$18.9 million compensation charge, Heinen backdated the options to January 17 when the company share price was much lower, the SEC said. She then told her staff to prepare false documents showing the board of directors had acted on that day. Later, in December 2001, the company granted 7.5 million options to Jobs. Again, Heinen avoided a $20.3 million charge by drafting minutes for a fake board meeting she said happened on Oct. 19, the SEC said. That meeting had never occurred. Heinen has maintained her innocence in the case and a statement by her lawyers said, "Nancy Heinen's integrity is unimpeachable."Apple's backdating problems started in June 2006, when the company announced thatÂ an internal probeÂ had found some irregularities in some option grants issued between 1997 and 2001. Four months later, Apple said a special committee hadÂ found irregularities in 15 of the grantsÂ made between 1999 and 2002. The internal investigation also found that Jobs was aware that favorable grant dates had been selected but didn't receive or benefit from those grants and was "unaware" of the accounting implications. In late December,Â Apple disclosed more backdating-related news,Â again clearing current executives and taking an $84 million charge on its restated earnings. Macworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.
336847
Apple Computer Inc.  said on  Wednesday an internal investigation found irregularities with  its past stock option grants, prompting the immediate  resignation of a former chief financial officer from the board  of directors.
640730
(InfoWorld) - New allegations have surfaced that Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs was involved in backdating stock-option grants improperly while chairman of the animated movie studio Pixar Inc. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Jobs approved a March 2001 employment contract with "Toy Story" director John Lasseter that granted Lasseter Pixar stock options priced in December 2000, three months before the contract was signed and when the stock price was at its lowest level of the year. Although the Journal reports it is not clear whether Jobs picked the December stock options pricing date, his signature, on behalf of Pixar, is on Lasseter's contract. Stock-options backdating is not illegal, per se, but there are U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations on how they must be accounted for and disclosed to shareholders. Pixar Inc. has since been acquired by The Walt Disney Co., Jobs now sits on Disney's board and is its largest individual shareholder. Disney said it is conducting its own investigation of Pixar stock-options practices. The U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco and the SEC have been investigating stock-options backdating actions at Apple and other companies. Calls to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Apple and Disney were not immediately returned.
755867
As Apple and Dell continue wrestling with the degree of false value unreported options grants gave their respective companies, both announced they would be delaying their quarterly earnings filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
495640
Technology News, SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is suing anonymous people who leaked details about new products by posting information on the Internet, court documents showed on Friday.
688022
Apple lawyers are asking the judge to throw out a lawsuit alleging patent infringement.
770236
Apple Computer Inc.  said on  Wednesday it found irregularities with its past stock option  grants during an internal investigation and the company will  likely need to restate its past financial statements.
356344
Apple is suing anonymous individuals who it accuses of leaking details to the Web of its unreleased products. The company filed suit in the Santa Clara County California Superior Court on December 13.
187526
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to give a deposition in the stock option backdating lawsuit against former Apple General Counsel, Nancy Heinen.
286760
Apple Computer Inc. said on Wednesday an internal investigation found irregularities with its past stock option grants, prompting the immediate resignation of a former chief financial officer from the board of directors.
468974
Apple Computer Inc. , which  said this week that it uncovered irregularities in some of its  stock options granted between 1997 and 2001, does not stand out  as an egregious example of options backdating, analysts said.
405386
Apple Computer Inc.  said on Wednesday an internal investigation found irregularities with its past stock option grants prompting the immediate resignation of a former chief financial officer from the board of directors.
323390
The U S Securities and Exchange Commission sued two former executives at DRS Technologies Inc.'s Engineered Support Systems , accusing them of backdating stock options to improperly pay employees $20 million.
716562
Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs continued his tradition of taking home only $1 in salary in 2007, when he also gained $14.6 million on paper by exercising stock options that were about to expire, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.