Keller Rohrback L.L.P. announces that a shareholder derivative complaint has been filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of nominal defendant Apple Computer, Inc. and against certain Company executives and board members.
The complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary duties and colluded with one another to: (1) improperly backdate grants of Apple stock options to various Apple executives in violation of the Company’s shareholder-approved stock option plans; (2) improperly record and account for the backdated stock options in violation of GAAP; (3) improperly take tax deductions based on the backdated stock options in violation of the Tax Code; and (4) produce and disseminate to the Company’s shareholders false financial statements and other SEC filings that improperly recorded and accounted for the backdated option grants thereby concealing the improper backdating of stock options.
Apple had previously announced an internal investigation related to the issuance of certain stock option grants made between 1997 and 2001. Yesterday, the Company announced that although the investigation is ongoing, the Company had discovered additional evidence of irregularities and in light of that, Apple would likely need to restate its historical financial statements.
http://www.seattleclassaction.com/
MacDailyNews Note: This is at least the third such lawsuit filed against Apple for stock option irregularities. In early July, Apple announced that two suits had been filed, one in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, a federal court, and the second suit in the California Superior Court for Santa Clara County.
Related articles:
Wall Street forgiving of Apple’s stock option irregularities; CEO Jobs unlikely to be terminated – August 04, 2006
Apple’s stock option irregularities escalate into a scandal as world awaits Steve Jobs’ WWDC keynote – August 04, 2006
Apple warns of profit restatement dating back to 2002 – August 04, 2006
Apple loses 3.5% to $67.15 in premarket trading – August 04, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – August 03, 2006
Shareholder’s options suit against Apple alleges ‘striking pattern that could not have been chance’ – July 11, 2006
Apple announces update regarding stock option grants – July 05, 2006
UBS: stock options probe unlikely to hurt Apple – June 30, 2006
Apple joins growing list of companies entangled in stock option ‘irregularities’ – June 29, 2006
Apple to investigate stock option grant ‘irregularities’ made between 1997 and 2001 – June 29, 2006
F**king leeches. Maybe next time they’ll figure out a way to sue God for birth defects…
A Seattle based group of lawyers launch a trolling suit against Apple. I wonder if Baldmer is one of the claimants. I wonder if Krispy Kreme Glazer is one also.
The media makes such a big deal whenever a lawsuit is filed, then its forgotten. Apple has their own lawyers and I’m sure they knew this was coming. It’s not a big deal. Just part of doing business in the 21st century.
This is clearly a smear campaign from the MS guys…What a ridiculous knit to pick. Stock options, never mind that scores of other corporations are doing the same thing. It has to Apple that gets the egg on the face. Good luck MS, it isn’t any wonder that they released the “black hat” hacker invitation story at the same time.
Andrew Hamilton
Videographers in Las Vegas
http://www.hiproductions.com
These suits won’t get anywhere.
I sued God for a birth defect and won. Then I had a stroke.
Steve Jobs is going to fry
Judge Judy
Don’t take the cheese.
I spread my legs and took some pictures when I was younger and all you f-ckers wanna do is attack me 30 years later?!?
I’m Dr. Goddamn Laura F-cking Schlessinger! If that’s the way you wanna play it, fine.
Bring it on you bitches!!!
Hey, remember when Florida home users couldn’t get AppleCare because Apple wouldn’t provide necessary company data to State agencies to protect consumers against extended warranty fraud?
I went for three years without AppleCare because of Apple’s shady buisness practices.
I was deprived of a essential extended warranty that was given to everyone else, just because of the State I lived in, because Apple refused to disclose data that would revel their involvement in criminal behavior.
Apple is wrong and I deserve to be compensated and Apple should be slapped with a substancial punitive damage, for me and everyone denied AppleCare in Florida.
Let’s sue, we got the goods.
I prefer to die by firing squad.
@Supporting Evidence
So Apple edits contracts for other states, but not Florida? Must be a major corporate grudge against Florida – or maybe the laws in the other 49 states weren’t stupid?
Well you know it wouldn’t take long before the whores came out of the wood work looking for free money.
Just think about this one. Before the defendant can be found guilty and damages assessed, the plaintiffs have to prove they were damaged. Let’s see, if I bought AAPL in ’97, ’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, it was substantially lower than it is today. Therefore I profited.
The plaintiffs are going to have to prove that they a/ paid too much for AAPL, or b/ sold it for too little. Doing that is going to be very difficult and even more expensive.
As of this year, Apple now provides AppleCare for home users in Florida.
Before they didn’t “meet the State terms” to disclose financial information, which is one of the requirements of the law.
So Apple simply didn’t provide the information and thus didn’t have AppleCare for Florida home residents.
The reason for that is now obvious, with the latest “cooked books” being discovered.
Apple was hiding it’s criminal behavior, there is a case, get on board for free money.
You know where to click.
Hamilton Productions: it pick nits not pick knits. Nits being the eggs of head lice.
Seatle = micrsoft = say no more
It is almost embarrassing to read how many people think that this is some Microsoft conspiracy to bring down Apple.
Some individuals who once held high positions in the company broke the law, plain and simple.
That every other company is doing it is being used as an excuse is even more disappointing.
If your someone who settles for mediocrity than you have no business using Macintosh computers.
If my best friend was arrested for drunk driving, I would expect him to receive a just penalty, regardless of how many other people drive drunk.
The analogy applies to Apple Computer.
That so many people seem to have such a double standard is truly disappointing.
If your posts were written in sarcastic jest, I would advise putting a tag next time, such as ::sarcasm:: or [sarcasm] as to make quite clear your tone.
*your = you’re
Dankman,
I agree entirely.
But many here among us are like football (soccer) fans, they see the fouls against – but not those commited by – their own team.
“But many here among us are like football (soccer) fans, they see the fouls against – but not those commited by – their own team.”
Fortunately Zidane makes it quite easy to distinguish them…. ::chuckles::
Ambulance Chaser,
Apple was hiding it’s criminal behavior, there is a case, get on board for free money.
Fuck yourself.
What a dirtbag point of view. Never mind that anyone was actually hurt, in your view it’s all about the free money. We know how it works: cushy legal fees for the attorneys, scraps for everyone else.
Here’s to the day gold-digging lawyers, ones like you, are turned into felons.
Since Apple is a high profile company a judge will want to make an example of their crimes and throw the book at them.
It will take a while but people at Apple are looking at jail time or stiff fines or both.
And Apple did not do it one time, but had a pattern of doing it. They knew they were committing a crime, but continued to do it. They potentially cheated/deceived investors and cheated the U.S. public by not paying the proper amount taxes.
What if Apple´s profits for the last 4 years were actually losses? Would Apple stock risen like it has? Would the Steve being getting all the glowing press?
Since Apple is a high profile company a judge will want to make an example of their crimes and throw the book at them.
It will take a while but people at Apple are looking at jail time or stiff fines or both.
And Apple did not do it one time, but had a pattern of doing it. They knew they were committing a crime, but continued to do it. They potentially cheated/deceived investors and cheated the U.S. public by not paying the proper amount taxes.
What if Apple´s profits for the last 4 years were actually losses? Would Apple stock risen like it has? Would the Steve being getting all the glowing press?
Obviously, Apple is the victim of a Microsoft plot…but even then, Apple is making stock options “just work”, the way they went about it, unlike Microsoft, is elegant and unlike Microsoft they are 100% IRS free.
Guy steals a car. Guy realizes he is going to be caught by the police.
Guy turns himself in.
Cool.
But he still committed the crime of stealing the car.
Guy is charged with crime.
Seattle based law firm–if that doesn’t tell you something, you are a fool.
I repeat, none of this will matter after WWDC keynote. In fact, it already doesn’t matter–look at what The Street did yesterday.
Moving right along…
“It is almost embarrassing to read how many people think that this is some Microsoft conspiracy to bring down Apple.”
its true & undercover FBI agent elvis has been assigned to the case.
Dankman: “It is almost embarrassing to read how many people…”
Hear, hear. Well said.
And don’t get me started on the your, you’re, its, it’s, their, there, etc. It hurts my eyes after a while. You’re one of the guys I was ‘talking to’ in the introductory part of my post in “Anonymous Apple Employee leaks…”. You, macaholic & others ’round here who know where the letters and the punctuation marks go. It’s a pleasure, gentlemen.
As to the topic at hand, I would love to see the actual _people_ who _did_ the misdeed(s) be punished. Although I can understand that the company/board/whatever is ultimately responsible for the actions of its employees and representatives, this was done by specific people within the company — One or two accountants? Three lawyers? Two VPs? Whatever and whoever — and the rest of the company had nothing to do with it. I’d like to see the group of people who were _directly and solely involved_ pay retribution and receive the punishment, rather than taking it out of the company’s coffers.
I know this is a ridiculously simplistic view (and I know others here will be happy to confirm that for me) and I’m sure it’s difficult to determine who those people are and, again, I realize that legally the ‘Company’ is responsible for its collective actions. But it would be nice to recognize that companies are made up of PEOPLE and that those people (should) have individual responsibility as well.
All typos and grammatical errors herein are my company’s fault, not mine. Flame or sue them.
Fscking scum-sucking lawyers!
eye thinq day peepul whu commmunt hon uther peepuls speeeleng N grhammar hon the Ntrrrrrnet neeeeeed 2 ghet a lyfe. Lunce Curfukle iz ourr Neu ghrammer nazi.
Billy Joe Bob
well said –
too many self righteous,nitpickers and intolerant assholes on an otherwise loose and fun technology forum
If it was possible to actually inflict physical pain through this forum we would already have a few dead ones in our hands.
Can we just get alone bitches?
DBS
did you mean to say along or are you egging us?
DBS: Actually, it’s “if it *were* possible” it has to do with the subjunctive or sumthin’ like thet thar.
Aside from the sarcastic and good-natured jab at DBS above, I haven’t corrected, condemned nor even _commented_ on *anyone’s* post in any negative way, regarding spelling, grammar or anything else! Please find somewhere where I’ve said anything negative about anyone! I’m pert near ready to say some negative things, though. Maybe about how not only can’t people write no more, they cain’t read, nither? But I won’t. ’twas nothing but a missunderstanding. My general lament about the state of literacy gave some people offense. Dunno why. But I’d be sorry if I thought I had something to be sorry about.
I simply *complimented* someone on their ability to type in english. Why does that bother you and elicit such a response as calling me a Nazi? Wow. A bit of an overreaction to absolutely nothing. A Nazi? Dude, lighten up. Nazis were bad, bad people. The kind of people who’d kill Jews or use Windows or put apostrophes in the wrong places and such (he typed, smiling all friendly like).
Ya come into a forum and try to make nice. Compliment some people on their use of english on accounta it’s a rarity and ya get slammed for doing so. Thought I read something about a “loose and fun technology forum”. Not so far.
On topic….
Is this really about a few inadvertent irregularities – or is it going to become a real scandal?
At this point it’s too early to tell. But if someone at Apple was playing fast and loose with decimal points and calendars, it’s gonna be a real test of the ol’ Realityh Distortion Field.
I fiend this unbelievable for the involvement of Steve Jobs himself. Now he might be called a cheater, despite his salary of 1 dollar. I would say: take a salary of the usual millions, nut don’t cheat with options of the stocks that we all might (a handful) have.
The company has already said that Steve Jobs, was only peripherally involved in this, and he didn’t make a penny because he never exercised the stock options. So Steve isn’t playing fast and loose, he was granted improper stock option he NEVER exercised.
So unless somone got Steve’s fingerprints on or signature on this… case closed for Senor Jobs.
2nd, class action schmass action. Unless stockholders can prove that they were at all harmed by this ( which they will have a hard time proving considering that the restated earnings will be INFINTESSIMALLY different from what they were. Also Apple’s legal department are far from the quite settlement types. They are completely willing to slug it out until the bitter end. So no easy money for anyone.
Now before we compare this to Enron, or Worldcomm… lets put it into perspective. This is not a matter of the people at the top colluding and an executive culture that was fine with playing a shell game to make a company look more profitable than it was. This is (as it stands now) someindividuals, who violated company policy by backdating their stock options to make themselves some cash. That is no different than embezzlment, stealing office supplies, or any in-company shenanigans. So Apple may be liable by way of FTC fines and what not, but as a company they are not responsible.
Even if someone wanted to make an example of Apple, due to their high profile, it would end up being in the form of fines, and maybe mandatory audits for the next 10 years. Now the individuals responsible are looking at jail time if the feds decide to make an example of them. That stated the feds may decide to not do anything major, if they discover it that it is isolated enough and if there is a bigger, dirtier, easier fish to fry somewhere else.
So lets talk about this back on the plane of reality and maybe we can have an itelligent discussion.
This latest scandal from Apple has a long and complex origin that goes back to several racial discrimination complaints from an Apple Employee who was granted thousands of options for outstanding performance, and had those options stolen by Apple Computer when he was wrongfully terminated.
He later tried to sue Steve Jobs for the value of the options in court, but Jobs did not show up to small claims court and sent an apple shyster jewess named Joni Vogel (A.K.A Joni Richter) which is against small claims rules. Vogel (Richter) commited several acts of perjury in court and amazingly blocked any ruling against Jobs who is still in hiding and not responding to the claims in the suit.
Soon thereafter, Apple started covering up this event and calling it an “Investigation” and “Voluntarily” reporting to the SEC. This is big folks, it is a scam that Apple’s current managers and executives thought that they can get away with but it’s only going to get uglier and uglier. Stay tuned.
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Hi guys. What makes the engine go? Desire, desire, desire.
I am from Switzerland and , too, and now am writing in English, give please true I wrote the following sentence: “The end result of all that buying is that our investor is sitting on.”
🙁 Thanks in advance. Thelma.