Outline of Recent SEC Enforcement Actions - the Utah State Bar
Outline of Recent SEC Enforcement Actions - the Utah State Bar
Outline of Recent SEC Enforcement Actions - the Utah State Bar
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$328,300 for Lazaridis) plus interest. Their disgorgement will be deemed satisfied by <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
previous payment <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se amounts to RIM.<br />
The settlements in <strong>the</strong> civil injunctive action are subject to <strong>the</strong> approval <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> U.S.<br />
District Court for <strong>the</strong> District <strong>of</strong> Columbia.<br />
On Feb. 5, 2009, <strong>the</strong> Ontario Securities Commission brought a related settled action<br />
against RIM, Balsillie, Lazaridis, Kavelman, Loberto and certain o<strong>the</strong>r directors which included<br />
<strong>the</strong> total payment in Canadian dollars <strong>of</strong> $76.85 million and o<strong>the</strong>r sanctions. The <strong>SEC</strong><br />
acknowledges <strong>the</strong> assistance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Ontario Securities Commission in this matter.<br />
<strong>SEC</strong> v. UnitedHealth Group Inc.<br />
<strong>SEC</strong> v. David J. Lubben<br />
Litigation Release No. 20836 (December 22, 2008)<br />
http://sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20836.htm<br />
Press Release (December 22, 2008)<br />
http://sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-302.htm<br />
The Securities and Exchange Commission, on December 22, 2008, filed a civil injunctive<br />
action against UnitedHealth Group Inc., a Minnetonka, Minnesota, health insurance company,<br />
alleging that it engaged in a scheme to backdate stock options. Without admitting or denying <strong>the</strong><br />
allegations, UnitedHealth agreed to settle charges that it violated <strong>the</strong> reporting, books and<br />
records, and internal controls provisions <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> federal securities laws.<br />
In a separate complaint, <strong>the</strong> Commission charged former UnitedHealth General Counsel<br />
David J. Lubben with participating in <strong>the</strong> stock option backdating scheme. Without admitting or<br />
denying <strong>the</strong> allegations, Lubben consented to, among o<strong>the</strong>r things, an antifraud injunction, a<br />
$575,000 penalty, and a five-year <strong>of</strong>ficer and director bar.<br />
The Commission alleges that between 1994 and 2005, UnitedHealth concealed more than<br />
$1 billion in stock option compensation by providing senior executives and o<strong>the</strong>r employees with<br />
“in-<strong>the</strong>-money” options while secretly backdating <strong>the</strong> grants to avoid reporting <strong>the</strong> expenses to<br />
investors.<br />
According to <strong>the</strong> Commission’s complaint, certain UnitedHealth <strong>of</strong>ficers used hindsight<br />
to pick advantageous grant dates for <strong>the</strong> company’s nonqualified stock options that on many<br />
occasions coincided with, or were close to, dates <strong>of</strong> historically low annual and quarterly closing<br />
prices for UnitedHealth’s common stock. Although pricing <strong>the</strong> options below current prices<br />
required <strong>the</strong> company to report a compensation expense under well-settled accounting principles,<br />
UnitedHealth avoided reporting <strong>the</strong> charges by creating inaccurate and misleading documents<br />
indicating that <strong>the</strong> options had been granted on <strong>the</strong> earlier date. The backdated grants resulted in<br />
materially misleading disclosures, with <strong>the</strong> company overstating its net income in fiscal years<br />
1994 through 2005 by as much as $1.526 billion.<br />
The Commission declined to charge <strong>the</strong> company with fraud or seek a monetary penalty,<br />
based on <strong>the</strong> company’s extraordinary cooperation in <strong>the</strong> Commission’s investigation, as well as<br />
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