JURIST - Paper Chase: DOJ indicts former McAfee general counsel for stock options backdating scheme

[JURIST] The former general counsel for computer security company McAfee [corporate website] was indicted Tuesday by the Department of Justice for concealing an illegal stock option backdating scheme. The DOJ charged [PDF indictment] Kent Roberts with six counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and filing false SEC documents. The indictment alleged that as part of the scheme to defraud McAfee (formerly known as Network Associates), its investors, the SEC, and the public, Roberts:

fraudulently granted himself extra compensation by causing the grant date for his stock options grant to be changed in Network Associate's books and records so that the exercise price of the grant would be lower and so that it appeared that the grant was made on the new fabricated grant date.

The DOJ further accused Roberts of back-dating stock options for ex-McAfee CEO George Samenuk. McAfee fired Roberts [press release] in May 2006 for an "improper" event involving stock option grants discovered by an internal McAfee investigation. The Recorder has more.

In January, the San Francisco US Attorney's office launched an investigation [JURIST report] into a stock option package given by Apple, Inc. [corporate website] to CEO Steve Jobs [professional profile]. Apple gave Jobs 7.5 million Apple shares in October 2001, but did not finalize the options package until December 2001; the package appreciated $20 million between those dates.

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