Deloitte Auditors Charged in Adelphia Accounting Scandal

October 3, 2005
By Jay Sherman
TV Week

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed administrative charges Friday against two auditors at accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, claiming their auditing services contributed to Adelphia Communications' giant accounting scandal.

The commission charged Gregory Dearlove, 51, with several violations, including wrongfully allowing Adelphia to keep $1.6 billion of debt off its balance sheet. His lawyer has claimed the SEC improperly charged Mr. Dearlove, who is reportedly fighting the charges. The second auditor, William Caswell, 48, also faced accounting violation charges, and has settled with the agency without admitting or denying guilt.

Adelphia filed for federal bankruptcy protection in 2002 after it was discovered the company was a co-borrower with the founding Rigas family on more than $3 billion in loans. The company has settled most claims with the SEC, and is in the process of being sold to Time Warner and Comcast.