Former Apple General Counsel Settles Backdating Charges

SetteB.IT and BusinessWeek report on Nancy Heinen's settlement with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the backdating investigation.

The SEC said that company records pertaining to a grant of 4.8 million options to Apples senior executive team in February of 2001, and a grant of 7.5 million shares made to CEO Steve Jobs in December of 2001 had been altered to conceal what it called a fraud. The result was that Apple underreported its stock-related expenses by nearly $40 million.

The SEC had previously settled with Apple CFO Fred Anderson and had cleared Steve Jobs of any wrongdoing in the matter.

The settlement terms included a payment of $2.2 million in repayment, interest and penalties and she is barred from service as an officer in a public company for five years. She did not admit or deny any wrongdoing in the matter. This should draw the a close to investigations surrounding Apple's backdating controversy.