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Previous Posts Archives
4/26/2007
Kleinfeld Resigns (or Was it A Coup?)
Klaus Kleinfeld has announced that he will resign from Siemens, a result of the explosive bribery investigation that continues to dog the manufacturing firm (if not the company's stock price). Kleinfled had not, as yet, been implicated in any wrong doing, but he did have his enemies on the board Siemens board, who have apparently used this as an opportunity to force his ouster.

At least that's the story the FT is tellin'.

-- MDT

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4/25/2007
Former Apple CFO Makes Deal, Tells Tales on Jobs
Looks like Nacy Heinen and Fred Anderson - Apple's former general counsel and CFO, respectively - are coming out swinging. So far Heinen and Anderson are the only two Apple execs to take a public fall for the company's stock option backdating, but both may still have a great deal to say about the role of Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Official charges against Heinen are expected from the SEC as soon as this week. She has vowed to fight. Anderson, on the other hand, has cut a deal with the SEC - paying $3.5 million to settle backdating-related charges against him.

More on all the schenanigans from Palo Alto, via the FT - here and here.

-- MDT

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Ice Cream King Tom Carvel Was Murdered?
So claims his niece, Pamela Carvel. Although the man who brought us CookiePuss and Fudgy the Whale is 17 years gone, and assumedly died from natural causes, Pam Carvel is convinced foul play was involved.

This week Pamela filed a formal request in Florida to have her uncle's body exhumed for examination. She claims that many members of the Carvel family have long suspected that Tom was drugged and murdered after he discovering that key employees were stealing from his company.

We must not rest until Tom Carvel has justice...I think that goes without saying. But not everyone in the Carvel family feels Pamela's actions are of pure motive...

More on the Carvel family drama, here.

-- MDT

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4/24/2007
Insider Trading Charges a Back Door For Prosecutors
Interesting article from the NJ Star Ledger (which features quote-love for friend of The Daily Caveat Peter Henning) on changing strategies for corporate crime prosecutors. Using the Joe Nacchio trial as a case in point, Henning describes in the article how prosecutors can use insider trading charges against executives as a back door to exploring accounting fraud without having to dive into the treacherous, confusing minutia that comes from attacking corporate accounting head on.

-- MDT

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Siemens Executive Shuffle... Kleinfeld on his last legs?
While a Siemens internal investigation found no evidence implicating CEO Klaus Kleinfeld in the recent bribery scandal, there is apparently still great pressure for him to step down. The German Financial Times has reported that Siemens' supervisory board is pushing for a new chief executive to replace Kleinfeld. Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman, a key member of the Siemens board is apparently spearheading the push against Kleinfeld.

-- MDT

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4/23/2007
Enron's Arnold Makes Good (Really Good) With Centaurus
Interesting profile of John Arnold via The Guardian. Arnold started out his career as an energy trader with the now infamous Enron. A bet that oil prices would fall last year put his hedge fund, Centaurus Energy into the stratosphere and earned Arnold himself a top spot on the list of highest paid financial sector executives. I am sure, also, that his clients do quite well... via

Check out The Guardian for more on John Arnold
, as well as the other top earners in the hedge fund sector.

-- MDT

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2 Comments.
Anonymous Anonymoussaid...
Maybe Centaurus Energy is connected to Bear Stearns Centaurus Energy since they have a similar name and they are located at the same address in Houston, Texas.
Anonymous Anonymoussaid...
Maybe it's because Centaurus is telling Intercontinental Exchange where to set the futures marks. It should be easy to make money when you're telling the exchange where to settle the markets. Can you say "Insider trading?"
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PI Helps Australian Investors Track Down the Con Man Who Swiped their Cash
It warms the heart... Really, it does.

A few years back Gabrial Pennicott conned a group of Australian investors out of three quarters of a million dollars in a property investment swindle. He fled Australia rather than face the heat from regulators and their former clients. But if the arm of the law is long, the arm of an Australian schoolteacher is even longer.

Tired of inaction from local regulators, Pennicott's victims took action. With the help of a Private Investigator, a group of Pennicott's former clients - including 66-year old retired schoolteacher Frances McMenomy - tracked Pennicott from Australia to California to Canada, where he was served with legal papers.

Great story. For more details on Pennicott, the swindle and the sting check out this article from The Australian.

-- MDT

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Apple's Steve Jobs a Likely to Avoid Criminal Charges in Stock Options Probe
Was there ever any doubt?

Details at Tech-Blorge.

-- MDT

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4/20/2007
Reuters Runs Down Corporate Convictions
Check out The Factbox for details. Can't tell your crooked CEO without a scorecard...

-- MDT

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Board Chair Resigns at Siemens
Heinrich von Pierer, supervisory board chairman of Siemens, is expected to resign in the next few days in response to mounting scandal at the troubled German conglomerate.

The FT has further details on von Pierer and his decision to resign.

-- MDT

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Nacchio Guilty on 19 Counts
19 of 42 would be a pretty darn good batting average in the MLB. Less so in a guilty verdict. Former Quest CEO Joe Nacchio has been found guilty on 19 counts of insider trading after six days of jury deliberations in his criminal trial. In 2001, over five months Nacchio more than 100 million dollars worth of Quest stock, before disclosing the financial troubles the company was facing. A civil trial relating to the same issues is still pending.

There's more on the Nacchio Guilty verdict at TheOlympian.com.

-- MDT

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4/18/2007
Mondaq Article: SOX and the Future of Corporate Governance
From time to time I flog the content available via Mondaq, an online service which allows subject matter experts in the legal, regulatory and financial arenas to post their articles on the web for review. Most articles offer a free partial preview, but with a free subscription you can search and review all the articles you like. And believe me, you will like...

The on that caught my eye this morning is from Scott Harshbarger and Goutam U. Jois from Proskauer Rose and concerns Sarbanes-Oxley And The Future Of Corporate Governance.

Good stuff, and typical of what you'll fined here.

-- MDT

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Government Announces Restriction of Access to Student Loan Database
As you saw in this space earlier in the week, along side that other more sensational student loan scandal, there have been increasing calls for greater vigilance regarding how student loan companies utilize theNational Student Loan Data System.

It has been suggested that lenders have used this database, which includes the full range of personal information on tens of millions of students, well beyond its prescribed purpose and have done so for some time without adequate enforcement or oversight. Members of congress have also been loudly critical of the Department of Ed's failure to shore up protections for the sensitive data the system contains.

Last night the Department of Education, while defending its internal practices and personnel, shut off outside access to NSLDS. The shut down was described as temporary, and no doubt would never have happened if the student loan conflict of interest scandal wasn't heating up the papers.

Further details here, via the NYT.

-- MDT

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4/16/2007
The Case for David Stockman
Reagan-era public official and former Collins & Aikman CEO, David Stockman isn't taking his recent indictment on fraud charges lying down. Calling the prosecution "amateur hour," Stockman spoke with the New York Times about how he plans to fight the fraud charges against him, charges that had loomed for months before a formal indictment was finally handed down.

-- MDT

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Nacchio Verdict Forthcoming
Whatever happens, Nacchio may still face civil charges, but a not guilty verdict in his criminal trial won't exactly help the SEC's case. A great recap of the trial and a day-by-day summary can be found here, at The Denver Post.

Also, don't forget that The Race to the Bottom has been covering the trial closely. You might want to catch up with their coverage.

-- MDT

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Wal-Mart Facing Demands to Turn Over Surveillance Records
Exactly how long will Wal-Mart be able to deny these requests? This is the easy part. Right now you just have the usual antagonists, but stockholders aren't far behind - and those Benedictine nun shareholders asked really, really nicely. Come on Big W....confession is good for the soul.

-- MDT

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CA Fingers Founder on Corruption
Ahhhh, Charles Wang, the innovator of the 35 day month... While other CA top brass have already gone down for the count in relation to the wide-spread fraud at the company. Wang, however, has managed to keep bobbing and weaving since retiring in 2000, earning him teflon don status amongst the Silicon Valley set. But that may be changing as CA - the company he founded (but currently hungry to shake off the stink of corruption) comes gunning for him.

-- MDT

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The Other Student Loan Scandal
Student lending companies in many cases have access to a vast database of student information - the National Student Loan Data System, which was created in 1993 and houses data on some 60 million of young borrowers.

The data includes social security numbers, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and loan balances. Theoretically this database is safe behind the wall of government security and privacy law protections.

The reality is somewhat less comforting...and a congressional investigation may be in the cards.

Read all about it at The Washington Post.

-- MDT

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4/13/2007
How to End Bribery in Business
The answer, from the Financial Times OPED page? Political will.
Yeah, I know. Good luck with that... Still, the column is a good read, and not one likely to make you any less cynical. The FT is not exactly Pollyanna, after all.

-- MDT

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4/12/2007
Technology Companies... Ethics Optional?
Interesting article from CIO Today regarding a rash of ethics issues at tech companies. They site 75 investigations over ethics issues in the last few months. Some familiar faces in there: HP, Take Two Interactive, etc. But the top-down look is worth a read.

-- MDT

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Shell Pays $340 Million to Settle EU Class Action Suit
Royal Dutch Shell will make a massive, multi-million dollar settlement payment to over 50 European institutions in relation to Shell's downgrading of their oil reserves in 2004. According to the terms of the settlement Shell has already faced more millions in fines relating to their mis-reporting and several execs, including former company chairman Sir Philip Watts, lost their jobs over the fiasco.

The Shell settlement represents the largest class action settlement in Europe's history. It has been reported that Shell plans to offer a similar settlement to affected investors in the United States, but that may refer to the distribution of the millions in fines the company has already paid to the SEC on the reserves restatement matter.


-- MDT

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Menu Foods CFO in a Selling Frenzy Right Before Recall Ammouncement
Very naughty indeed. Dumping his stock before the announcement of the pet food recall... Illegal? Well, given the amount of press this story has received, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

-- MDT

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Currency Trader Faces Maximum Sentence on Fraud Charges
Martin Armstrong received a five year sentence this week for his role in defrauding clients of his firm, Princeton Economics International, out of millions of dollars. Armstrong will also pay $80 million in restitution to the victims of his ponzi-style scheme. Armstrong had already been in jail based on a civil contempt order from 2000 relating to his failure to turn over Princeton's assets.

Armstrong's lengthy jail time on the civil contempt charge adds an extra layer of interest to the case as there is apparently no limit to the amount of time he could be forced to remain incarcerated on the contempt charge. Moreover, his fraud sentence will not actually begin until he finishes serving his time for contempt. Quite the pickle, and one that has found Armstrong some support, despite his crimes.

Further details on Armstrong's sentencing and fraudulent activities can be found at the White Collar crime Prof. Blog.

-- MDT

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4/11/2007
Wal-Mart Gags Former In-House Spook
Wal-Mart has been granted a gag order against former employee, Bruce Gabbard. Apparently Gabbard has been gabbing to the Wall Street Journal. See The Consumerist for the saucy details. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart might be getting a call from the feds regarding the in-house surveillance program that Mr. Gabbard participated in while working for the mega-retailer.

-- MDT

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Two Former Endocare Executives Face Indictment
A 27 count indictment has been filed against two former executives of medical product manufacturer, Endocare. The comany's former CEO, Paul Mikus and former CFO, John Cracchiolo were charged with wire and securities fraud, filing false statements with the SEC and lying to the company's accountants. The two allegedly participated in a scheme in 2001 and 2002 to artificually inflate Endocare's revenue, ultimately costing investors an estimated $200 million.

Further details on the Endocare indictment can be found here
.

-- MDT

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4/10/2007
European Firm gets the Lead Plaintiff Nod in Dell Fraud Class Action
Union Asset Management Holding AG will be the lead plaintiff in the forthcoming class action lawsuit filed against computer-maker, Dell. Motley Rice, a South Carolina law firm, is representing the union. If you are keeping score, Lerach Coughlin did submit a petition for lead counsel but was rejected... The complaint against Dell alleges that several of the company's C-suiters manipulated earnings and enriched themselves by selling off stock at inflated prices before the fall.

Further detail on the Dell litigation can be found here. Also, check out this article which provides many details on allegations against Dell that appear in in the Lerach complaint.

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4/06/2007
Deloitte & Siemens, Another Scandal in the Making?
From the sharp eye (and pen) of RE: The Auditors... Francine McKenna catches a potential issue on the rise.

Debvoise & Plimpton is the law firm retained by Siemens' audit committee to aid the company in their internal investigation of the bribery allegations. D&P will be using number crunchers from Deloitte Touche Tomahtsu to assist.

However, Deloitte and Siemens have a business relationship in implementing software for third party clients. Deloitte touts these industry alliances (with both Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc. and Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc) right here.

Now Deloitte is a big place, but given their relationship with Siemens, should they really be the guys reviewing the books? And when will someone call them on it?

Hop on over to RE: The Auditors to read more of Ms. McKenna's comments on the subject.

-- MDT

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"Crazy Eddie" Sam Antar Has a Blog?
Another hat-tip this morning to RE: The Auditors...that's where I discovered this. "Crazy Eddie" is a blogger. And really, who would know more about the insider perspective on white collar fraud than Sam Antar. This blog is INSAAAANNE!!!

Ahem...

Now back to work, you.

-- MDT

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4/05/2007
Walmart is Watching You (And Everyone You Know)
Internal leaks, paranoia, overzealous management response, legality optional...this sound familiar to anyone?

How long until the P.I.s Wal-Mart hired to do their dirty work end up with their names splashed across the front page of the Wall Street Journal.

Hey! That was fast...although no P.I.s in evidence yet...

-- MDT

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Siemens' Feldmayer Released
But not out of the woods yet.

-- MDT

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Capital Warfare and the Sarbox MacGuffin
You'll want to take your time reading this post from Werner Kranenburg. Kranenburg builds a case, supported by some notable sources, that Sarbox isn't the boogeyman it has been made out to me with regard to U.S. capital market competitiveness. Rather, he argues that we should look to the current ill-advised conflation of domestic market regulation and foreign policy when endeavoring to understand Wallstreet's diminished appeal to international business.

Designed to help provide further security and sharper tools of influence of intractable governments abroad, capital market sanctions were embraced in the late 1990s as, well, warfare by other means. The SEC's Office of Global Security Risk, initiated under former SEC head William Donaldson administers capital market sanctions, but the roots of the policy go further back. The architect of the policy? U.S. congressman Christopher Cox. Cox now, of course, is better known as the chairman of the SEC.

Interesting stuff, with plenty of meat on the bone. Check out the full post from Kranenburg here. Also be sure to bookmark Werner's blog, With Vigour and Zeal, for further reading.

-- MDT

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4/04/2007
New Pretexting Rules Delivered By the FCC
Techdirt does their usual bang-up job covering the FCC's new ruling that puts further restrictions on pretexting. Unlike the recent anti-pretexting law that was passed in the U.S., which was aimed squarely at the pretexters themselves the FCC action is designed to plug the holes on the other side of the conversation, establishing more secure practices within telecom companies to prevent the exposure of personal data. Better alert practices for consumers and law enforcement are also part of the package. Amongst the consequences of the FCC's new ruling are:
  • Phone companies cannot release customer phone call records unless the customer provides a password. In the absence of a password, the company can only send the data to the customers' address of record or call the customer back at their phone number of record.
  • Carriers must notify the customer immediately if their password changes.
  • Telcos must get explicit consent from customers before sharing calling data with marketing partners and independent contractors.
  • Carriers must submit an annual certification to the FCC that includes actions taken against pretexters and a summary of relevant complaints from consumers.
Check out the full pretexting piece from Techdirt, or go straight to the horses mouth and read the FCC's order (Look for date: 4/2/07).

-- MDT

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Siemens Facing Lawsuit on Union Payoffs
The scandal that felled Johannes Feldmayer has also brought about a new lawsuit against the beleaguered Siemens. Beset by scandal and a high-profile international investigation into its business practices, Siemens can't seem to get (and probably doesn't deserve) a break.

In light of the cozy relationship that has emerged between Siemens and German union AUB, rival tradeunion IG Metall has filed suit against Siemens, alleging that the company sought to undermine IG Metall's status via covert financing of AUB, which is considered to be a much more employer friendly organization.

-- MDT

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4/03/2007
Law.com Q&As With SEC's New York Director
Mark K. Schonfeld heads the SEC's New York regional office, overseeing some 400 staff members. Schonfeld, a Harvard Law grad is also a ten year veteran of the SEC. He assumed the directorship of their North East region in 2004. Point being, you should care what this dude has to say. Read the Q&A here.

-- MDT

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Fortune Favors Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group
Pretty interesting Fortune profile of Chicago-based hedge funder, Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel Investment Group. Readable here, via CNN Money.

-- MDT

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4/02/2007
Siemens Investigation Expands, Plot Thickens
As the Sieman's bribery scandal (and "Operation Amigo") creeps toward the company's C-Suite, the International Herald Tribune explores the "risks and rewards" of investing in Germany.

Meanwhile, not exactly helping things, certain Siemens employees under arrest have admitted to offering bribes to Russian officials.

Also be sure to check out the Wharton Business School's take on all this: Hit by an Earthquake: How Scandals Have Led to a Crisis in German Corporate Governance





-- MDT

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Shoot them all, including the two children. Then, burn down their house.
These were the gruesome instructions of Jeffrey Gabbour, an Ohio area business man gave to a an intermediary he expected to hire a hitman. The "hit" in question concerned a business rival to Gabbour's hardwood flooring business.

A hard bit of business indeed. The would-be hitman HR rep. went straight to police instead. The authorities interceded, arresting Gabbour who has since been indicted on charges of conspiracy and attempted murder and faces 40 years in prison if convicted.

-- MDT

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