Stock option backdating cases live on. The Securities and Exchange Commission today simultaneously filed and settled civil fraud charges against California-based integrated circuit maker Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. and four former senior executives for inflating revenue and backdating stock options.
According to the SEC, from September 2001 through April 2006, the defendants “engaged in an elaborate channel stuffing scheme in order to improperly record revenue on product shipments.” As a result, Vitesse inflated the revenue it reported in its financial statements for 14 quarters, the SEC alleged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
