Sarbanes-Oxley News & Developments
SEC Takes Action Against High-Profile Cases Involving Former Finance ExecutivesFormer executives face heavy fines and 20 plus years in prison if convicted.
> > The SEC filed a subpoena enforcement action accusing former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay of refusing to furnish documents on the grounds that it would violate his Fifth Amendment rights. According to the commission, the documents being withheld by Lay appear to be corporate records, which Lay may not withhold from production on those grounds.
The SEC has yet to file charges against Lay or former chief executive Jeffery Skilling. Earlier this month former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan pled guilty to criminal conspiracy; former CFO Andrew Fastow, who was named in the same 109 count indictment that included Glisan, has pled not guilty. Last year former executive Michael Kopper pled guilty to money laundering and conspiracy.
A pair of former executives of Tyco International Ltd., CEO L.Dennis Kozlowski and CFO Mark Swartz, face accusations that they stole about $600 million. Each faces 30 years in prison if convicted on grand larceny and lesser counts, according to reports.
Former Credit Suisse First Boston investment banker Frank Quattrone also went on trial for charges stemming from government investigation into conflicts of interest on Wall Street. He faces 25 years in prison if convicted on all counts - two of obstruction, one of witness tampering.
Former Rite Aid Corp.general counsel and vice chairman Franklin C. Brown, who is accused of inflating company financial performance and then obstructing an investigation, faces 11 criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud, obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness, began his trial on monday in Harrisburg, Pa.
Source: CFO
Published:2003-09-30
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