McAfee to Pay $13.8 Million in Stock Scandal
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To settle a lawsuit over backdating, McAfee has restated its finances reports for 10 years and taken a $137.4 million charge.
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Antivirus vendor may pay $13 billion for the storage software company.
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Infineon Technologies AG has agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $160 million fine for participating in an international conspiracy to fix prices in the DRAM market, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said today.
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Shares of McAfee (MFE:NYSE - news - research) were up sharply Friday on news that the antivirus software maker posted stronger-than-expected third-quarter results and boosted revenue guidance for the fourth quarter.
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The former chief executive of software maker Computer Associates International was charged yesterday with securities fraud in a multibillion-dollar accounting scandal, and the company agreed to pay $225 million to stave off criminal charges.
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Kent Roberts, the former top lawyer at US computer security firm McAfee, was charged Wednesday with securities fraud by government regulators, who alleged Kent had manipulated stock option grants.
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Time Warner will be paying $210 million as part of a settlement for securities fraud charges leveled by the US Department of Justice.
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Time Warner agrees to pay $210m to settle charges of securities fraud involving America Online.
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A German manufacturer of technology commonly used in personal computers has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $160 million fine for engaging in an international price-fixing conspiracy that drove up computer prices, the Justice
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Brocade Communications Systems  Inc's  former CEO was sentenced on Wednesday to 21  months in prison for backdating stock-option grants in a  scandal that has ensnared scores of U.S. companies and led to  billions of dollars of restatements.
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The former chief executive of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. was ordered on Wednesday to pay a $15 million fine for orchestrating an illegal stock options tampering scheme.
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Antivirus software company McAfee Inc. is buying Foundstone Inc., which makes software for detecting and managing software vulnerabilities, for $86 million in cash, McAfee said Monday.
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(InfoWorld) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken the drastic step of suspending trading in shares of 35 companies whose stocks have frequently been touted in mass spam campaigns. SEC officials said on Feb. 8 that the firms involved -- none of which are household names -- have been the subject of repeated spam efforts meant to drive up trading of their securities and, subsequently, the value of the companies themselves. The trading bans will last for 10 days, after which shares in the involved companies will be unlocked -- unless the SEC's ongoing investigation proves any of the firms were involved in the e-mail schemes. While the ban might seem unfair to the businesses involved, especially if their names and securities were merely selected by scammers looking for penny stocks to inflate in so-called pump-and-dump operations, SEC officials said that in each business's case, there were sufficient questions raised regarding the "adequacy and accuracy" of information being advertised about the companies. Criminals have increasingly begun using spam to drive up interest in cheap stocks over the last several years. Before sending out mass messages about a specific firm, the individuals buy stock in the companies in the expectation that, with their e-mails, they can convince other people to purchase shares. When prices of the shares involved rise, the schemers sell off their own holdings, thus the pump-and-dump moniker. The spam messages, which often feature subject lines such as "Fast Money," have become one of the types of unwanted e-mail most frequently delivered to inboxes over the last year, alongside advertisements for prescription medications. Whenever misleading information is being widely distributed about a firm whose securities are traded, the SEC takes such actions, an agency representative said. "All we can say is that we suspend trading any time we think misinformation about specific securities is being reported," said Helene Glotzer, an SEC spokeswoman. "We're not making a statement that these companies themselves were behind the misstatements, but if the information is out there we feel it is important to let the investing public know; we'll continue our investigation, and if it is appropriate to take action against any of the companies, that is what we will do." The suspensions are part of an SEC initiative known as Operation Spamalot, which was launched specifically to shield investors from spam e-mail "hyping" small company stocks. SEC officials said that anyone who has received such e-mail will recognize the names of the companies who were suspended, as they are among the most frequently cited businesses in securities-related spam campaigns. The messages typically advertise some new product or impending deal that will increase the value of the companies and encourage investors to buy their low-priced securities, which are usually penny stocks. For instance, among the companies whose shares were suspended is Apparel Manufacturing Associates, a Bloomfield, Conn.-based firm that markets itself as a management and development company focused on the fashion arena. The SEC said that on Friday, Dec. 15, 2006, shares in Apparel Manufacturing closed at 6 cents, on a trading volume of 3,500 shares. After a weekend-long spam campaign using e-mails about the company advertising "huge news" that encouraged investors to "get in before the wire," trading volume in the stock rose to 484,568 shares on Monday, Dec. 18, with the price of the stock rising to more than 19 cents a share. The agency said that two days later the price had climbed to 45 cents per share, but one week after, Apparel Manufacturing's share price had fallen to 10 cents on trading volume of 65,350 shares. Calls to the company seeking comment on the stock suspension were not immediately returned. If the SEC investigation finds no link between the companies involved and the spam campaigns, their shares will be released for trading on March 21, 2007. SEC officials noted that the suspensions were all handed out to companies that are not subject to the SEC reporting requirements and whose shares are not listed on any exchange or on the OTC Bulletin Board. This means that brokers posting quotations for the purchase and sale of the securities are not required to conduct due diligence regarding the issuers, according to the agency. The 35 companies whose trading was suspended by the SEC are: Advanced Powerline Technologies, America Asia Petroleum, Amerossi International Group, Apparel Manufacturing Associates, Asgard Holdings, Biogenerics, China Gold, CTR Investments & Consulting, DC Brands International, Equal Trading, Equitable Mining, Espion International, Goldmark Industries, GroFeed, Healtheuniverse, Interlink Global, Investigative Services Agencies, iPackets International, Koko Petroleum, Leatt Corporation, LOM Logistics, Modern Energy, National Healthcare Logistics, Presidents Financial, Red Truck Entertainment, Relay Capital, Rodedawg International Industries, Rouchon Industries, Software Effective Solutions, Solucorp Industries, Sports-stuff.com, UBA Technology, Wataire Industries, WayPoint Biomedical Holdings, and Wineco Productions.
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WASHINGTON -- German chipmaker Infineon (Quote, Chart) has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $160 million fine for participating in what the Department of Justice (DOJ) calls an international price-fixing conspiracy in the memory chip market.
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(InfoWorld) - Graphics chip maker Nvidia found some irregularities in past stock-based compensation practices during an internal probe, and took a total of $127 million in non-cash charges over associated expenses, the company said Wednesday. The figure fell within theÂ $150 million chargeÂ Nvidia said it might have to take. The company also amended financial results for its fiscal year 2006 and the first two quarters of 2007 as a result of the internal probe. The non-cash charge and amendments to previous financial statements ends its internal probe, but an inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) remains ongoing, Nvidia said. The restated earnings reports did not have a material impact on Nvidia's operating results, it said. The company plans to cooperate fully with the SEC. A number of technology companies have launched reviews over stock-based compensation to employees, finding instances in which stock options have been dated back to a time when the stock had hit a low. The practice is unfair to shareholders and was made almost impossible to legally execute by Sarbanes-Oxley, and for good reason. Stock options were designed as a way for employees to share in the success of the company and give them an added incentive. But by back-dating the options, employees -- often executives -- were essentially given shares that were already valuable. So far, stock options probes, carried out either by companies themselves or by the SEC, have affected over 160 companies.Â Investigations at memory chip developer RambusÂ andÂ security software vendor McAfeeÂ  have led to the resignation or firing of top executives.Â Apple ComputerÂ could be kicked off the Nasdaq by Dec. 29 if it fails to submit its SEC Form 10-Q for the quarter ended 1 July 2006, and any required restatements linked to its stock options probe by that time. Other companies have faced shareholder lawsuits over the issue.
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If you want to know what it&#39;s like to dance with the devil, you might ask the folks at McAfee (NYSE: MFE). Scratch that, you don&#39;t need to ask, just read a few lines of the 10Q.
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Brocade Communications Systems Inc's  former CEO was sentenced on Wednesday to 21 months in prison for backdating stock-option grants in a scandal that has ensnared scores of U.S. companies and led to billions of dollars of restatements.