NEW ORLEANS, May 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Kahn Gauthier Swick, LLC ("KGS") announces the creation of the nation's first privately funded independent Options Pricing Investigations Division, focused on the investigation into the illegal backdating of options grants by US corporations. A growing number of companies are now being investigated by KGS' Options Pricing Investigations Division for improperly manipulating the prices of executive option grants.
Companies that have either received a letter of inquiry from the SEC, have been contacted by U.S. attorneys, have announced investigations and/or have otherwise drawn the attention of the KGS Options Pricing Investigations Division include the following:
- RSA Security Inc. (Nasdaq:RSAS) - Sepracor Inc. (Nasdaq:SEPR) - SafeNet Inc. (Nasdaq:SFNT) - Semtech Corp. (Nasdaq:SMTC)
The backdating of the exercise price of options is illegal and improper and violates each company's internal procedures as well as state and federal law. Such practices also constitute accounting fraud in violation of the Securities Act of 1934, Internal Revenue Service and tax fraud and breach of fiduciary duty to shareholders. The manipulation of options exercise prices results in lower payments to companies and it also results in those companies under-reporting compensation expenses in violation of GAAP. As companies are exposed for backdating options, experts predict that restatements could also follow in some cases.
If you hold shares of any of the above-referenced companies and wish to discuss your legal rights, you may e-mail or call the Options Pricing Investigations Division of KGS, without obligation or cost to you. You may contact Lewis Kahn or our KGS Investigation Division Representatives toll free 1-(866)-312-9134, or by email at lewis.kahn@kglg.com.