Apple execs face charges

Federal prosecutors are strongly considering criminal charges against former executives of Apple Inc as well as Broadcom and KLA-Tencor Corp. related to the backdating of stock options, according to The Wall Street Journal. Last year, Apple hired George Riley, a partner with O'Melveny & Myers, to represent the company in connection with the government investigation, which launched in mid-July and company's long-time general counsel Nancy Heinen, who left the company in May of 2006, hired East Bay defense lawyers Cristina Arguedas and Miles Ehrlich. Following Apple's disclosure its internal probe into backdated stock options, the spotlight fell on Apple execs: former CFO Fred Anderson and Heinen, while clearing current management, including CEO Steve Jobs.

Jobs hired outside legal help to deal with the Justice Department and the SEC, only days before reports that he was given 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required authorization from the company’s board of directors.

Last December, the company said it would restate financial data going back to 2002 and take an $84 million charge after a board committee found the company had improperly backdated thousands of stock options grants to employees and executives. The company took a a charge of almost $20 million to adjust for Apple CEO Steve Jobs' options, but exonerated current management and Jobs, saying it has "complete confidence" in its chief executive.

Earlier this month, Apple received an informal request from the U.S. government for more information and documents on its past stock-options practices; however, investors continue to focus on Jobs' role in the backdating as new evidence could implicate him in the backdating of options at PIxar, his animation company that was acquired by Disney.

by MacNN Staff