Business Crimes Hotline

Former Pixar CFO May Face Backdating Charges

The Los Angeles office of the SEC will recommend initiating a civil proceeding against former Pixar CFO Ann Mather for improperly backdating stock options, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mather worked for Pixar from 1999 to 2004 before it was acquired by Disney. The agency's recommendation was disclosed in a regulatory filing by Google, where Mather serves on the board of directors. Nick Wingfield, SEC Targets Ex-Finance Chief of Pixar, The Wall Street Journal, Apr. 29, 2008, at C3.

NEW YORK

Two Former Executives Charged by SEC for Backdating Options

The SEC charged two former senior executives from Monster Inc. with participating in a multi-year scheme to backdate stock options for company officers, directors, and employees. Monster's former president and COO James J. Treacy and former controller Anthony Bonica are named as defendants in the SEC's complaint. The complaint alleges that the backdated options were not properly described in Monster's public filings or properly accounted for in its financial statements, leading to material misstatements in the firm's Form 10-K and 10-Q disclosures. As a result, Monster overstated its aggregate pre-tax operating income by approximately $339.5 million for fiscal years 1997 through 2005, according to the SEC. The complaint further alleges that Treacy and Bonica personally benefited from the fraudulent scheme by receiving and exercising backdated grants of in-the-money options. SEC Complaint, available at http://www. sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2008/comp20544.pdf.

TEXAS

Willbros Group Inc. Agrees To Pay over $32 Million for FCPA Violations

Willbros Group Inc. and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively 'Willbros') agreed to pay more than $32 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, for violations of the FCPA in Ecuador and Nigeria. Willbros is a publicly traded company that provides construction, engineering, and other services in the oil and gas industry.

A criminal information was filed charging Willbros with one count of conspiring to make bribe payments to Nigerian and Ecuadoran officials, two counts of violating the FCPA in connection with the authorization of specific corrupt payments to officials in those countries, and three counts of violating the FCPA by falsifying books and records relating to corrupt payments and a tax fraud scheme.

Willbros entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, which states that if Willbros abides by the terms of the agreement for three years, the criminal information will be dismissed. The DOJ said that it agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement because of 'Willbros' thorough review of the improper payments, the companies' exemplary cooperation, the companies' implementation of enhanced compliance policies and procedures, and the companies' engagement of an independent corporate monitor.' Willbros and several of its employees also reached a settlement agreement with the SEC for violations of the FCPA and federal securities laws.

CALIFORNIA

Medicare Fraud Strike Force Obtains 11 Indictments in the Los Angeles Area

Eleven people from the Los Angeles area were indicted on charges of Medicare fraud. The indictments were the result of a multi-agency team of federal, state, and local investigators designed specifically to combat Medicare fraud through the use of real-time analysis of Medicare billing data, according to the DOJ. The 11 indictments represent phase two of the strike force's efforts, which produced more than 100 convictions in Miami-Dade County earlier this year. The DOJ says that the strike force has obtained indictments representing more than $13 million in fraudulently billed Medicare expenses.

Former Pixar CFO May Face Backdating Charges

The Los Angeles office of the SEC will recommend initiating a civil proceeding against former Pixar CFO Ann Mather for improperly backdating stock options, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mather worked for Pixar from 1999 to 2004 before it was acquired by Disney. The agency's recommendation was disclosed in a regulatory filing by Google, where Mather serves on the board of directors. Nick Wingfield, SEC Targets Ex-Finance Chief of Pixar, The Wall Street Journal, Apr. 29, 2008, at C3.

NEW YORK

Two Former Executives Charged by SEC for Backdating Options

The SEC charged two former senior executives from Monster Inc. with participating in a multi-year scheme to backdate stock options for company officers, directors, and employees. Monster's former president and COO James J. Treacy and former controller Anthony Bonica are named as defendants in the SEC's complaint. The complaint alleges that the backdated options were not properly described in Monster's public filings or properly accounted for in its financial statements, leading to material misstatements in the firm's Form 10-K and 10-Q disclosures. As a result, Monster overstated its aggregate pre-tax operating income by approximately $339.5 million for fiscal years 1997 through 2005, according to the SEC. The complaint further alleges that Treacy and Bonica personally benefited from the fraudulent scheme by receiving and exercising backdated grants of in-the-money options. SEC Complaint, available at http://www. sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2008/comp20544.pdf.

TEXAS

Willbros Group Inc. Agrees To Pay over $32 Million for FCPA Violations

Willbros Group Inc. and one of its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively 'Willbros') agreed to pay more than $32 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, for violations of the FCPA in Ecuador and Nigeria. Willbros is a publicly traded company that provides construction, engineering, and other services in the oil and gas industry.

A criminal information was filed charging Willbros with one count of conspiring to make bribe payments to Nigerian and Ecuadoran officials, two counts of violating the FCPA in connection with the authorization of specific corrupt payments to officials in those countries, and three counts of violating the FCPA by falsifying books and records relating to corrupt payments and a tax fraud scheme.

Willbros entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ, which states that if Willbros abides by the terms of the agreement for three years, the criminal information will be dismissed. The DOJ said that it agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement because of 'Willbros' thorough review of the improper payments, the companies' exemplary cooperation, the companies' implementation of enhanced compliance policies and procedures, and the companies' engagement of an independent corporate monitor.' Willbros and several of its employees also reached a settlement agreement with the SEC for violations of the FCPA and federal securities laws.