Monday, January 08, 2007

Where There's Smoke...Steve Jobs May Still Face Scrutiny Over Options

Apple's Jobs May Still Face Scrutiny Over Options
By Karen Gullo and Connie Guglielm, Jan. 8 (Bloomberg)

Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, exonerated by the company's board last month in a stock-options scandal, may still face scrutiny from U.S. investigators.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice may question Jobs as they probe whether current and former Apple executives, directors and others committed fraud by backdating some stock-option awards to inflate their value, said criminal defense attorneys who formerly worked at those agencies.
Apple said Dec. 29 that 6,428 stock options issued between 1997 and 2002 were backdated. That included one grant to Jobs marked as approved at a special board meeting that never occurred. Jobs recommended some favorable dates on options other than his own. Apple, which found ``no misconduct'' by Jobs, didn't say which options the CEO backdated or why it faked a board meeting...read more: here