Surprise Statement, Gutsy Defense in Apple Case
The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports that a public statement by Apple’s former CFO could complicate matters for Apple CEO Steve Jobs.
Fred Anderson says he warned Jobs that the company would have to take a charge against earnings if it backdated stock options.
The Securities and Exchange Commission claims Jobs received stock options in December 2001 that were backdated to October. But the company did not take the charge at that time. Apple has said Jobs did not do anything wrong and was not aware of the accounting requirements.
Anderson has agreed to pay $3.5 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The SEC filed civil fraud charges against Apple ex-general counsel Nancy Heinen yesterday. The WSJ and FindLaw posted the complaint.
Heinen will apparently argue that she forward-dated stock options instead of backdating them, believing the law allowed her actions, the Recorder reports.
The Recorder quotes some experts who are skeptical of that defense.
Defense sources say the options were first discussed in August, and rather than backdating the options to that date, Heinen forward-dated them to October.
