Ex-Apple exec 'warned' the Jerkoff over options

Why would the Jerkoff pay attention to a lowly peasant?

Jobs was warned that manipulating the dates of share-option grants could have serious accounting implications, according to the company's former CFO.

The allegations contradict public statements by Jobs, and were made yesterday by Fred Anderson as he agreed to pay $3.6m (£1.8m) to settle charges laid by the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Apple's former chief lawyer, Nancy Heinen, was charged yesterday with faking board meeting minutes so as to give the impression a multimillion-dollar share-options grant to the executive team below Jobs had been approved on 17 January 2001 - a date when there hadn't been a board meeting. She denies the charges. The made-up date was picked by Jobs and Ms Heinen, Anderson claimed yesterday.

By changing options dates, hundreds of companies were able to inflate executive compensation and avoid showing the true cost of the options in the accounts. The SEC alleges that backdating the executive team grant, and a further grant to Jobs himself, meant Apple overstated its profits by $39.2m.

In a statement through his lawyers, Anderson said he would pay back $3.5bn of inflated share-options gains and pay a $150,000 fine. He was fired by Apple last year, and is now concentrating on Elevation Partners, the private equity group he founded with Bono, the U2 frontman.

Anderson claimed Jobs told him in late January, 2001, that a board meeting at the start of the month had approved the grant to the executive team but, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, pricing of the grant was being deferred to 17 January, after the annual MacWorld conference which led to a share price spike. The SEC says the grant was only properly approved the following month.

Anderson's lawyer said: "Fred cautioned Jobs that the grant would have to be priced based on the date of the actual board agreement or there could be an accounting charge. He was told by Jobs the board had given its prior approval and the board would verify it. Fred relied on these statements by Jobs and from them concluded the grant was being properly handled."

Apple maintains while Jobs helped choose favourable dates for options grants he was unaware of the accounting implications and did not personally benefit.

The SEC said it would not bring any action against Apple itself, praising its "swift, extensive, and extraordinary cooperation in the commission's investigation".

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2483920.ece