Wall $treet Folly

Enter the drugs and the hookers: New backdating allegations against Broadcom's ex-CEO

The backdating scandal has gotten really, really boring of late, with most companies that have had any involvement either getting absolved or little regulatory wrist slaps.  It's almost been relegated to a nonevent even for companies that still have backdating charges lurking in the background.  This morning, a Wall Street Journal report on Broadcom's option probe and new allegations against the company's co-founder and former chief executive, Henry T. Nicholas III, has just made the scandal a lot more fun to watch:

The allegations surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this year by Kenji Kato, a former personal assistant and bodyguard to Mr. Nicholas. Mr. Kato, who claims he worked for Mr. Nicholas on and off from 1999 to 2006, alleges in a case filed in Los Angeles Superior Court that he was forced to indulge in illegal narcotics with his boss, whom he portrays as leading a raucous lifestyle that included spiking clients' drinks and offering prostitutes to customers.

An attorney for Mr. Nicholas strongly denies the allegations and says Mr. Kato is a troubled former contract worker who fabricated the events to extort money from the admittedly high-living technology executive. Mr. Nicholas resigned from Broadcom four years ago.

Kobi Alexander's Namibian extradition trial postponed again

Former Comverse Technology CEO Kobi Alexander can breathe easy for now.  His extradition hearing was delayed again, with the Namibian court postponing his hearing until June 25:

The Namibian magistrate's court approved a defence request for the delay after lawyers said they had not been informed early enough of the appointment of a new magistrate in the case, Petrus Unengu.

U.S. prosecutors are seeking the return of Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, the former chief executive and founder of New York-based software maker Comverse Technology Inc, on criminal charges of manipulating stock options.

Namibia delays U.S. millionaire extradition case - Reuters

One month reprieve for ex-Comverse CEO Kobi Alexander

His Namibian extradition trial was supposed to have begun yesterday but was postponed to June 8.   

Local media reports said the change was made at the request of prosecutors, who may be seeking a new judge.

It could be years before the fugitive former chief of Long Island's Comverse Technology is extradited back to the U.S. - if he's ever forced to return.

When he fled to the southwest Africa nation with his wife and their three kids in July, Alexander got a two-year work permit by pledging to invest $38 million in the country.

Since then, the Israeli tech entrepreneur, 54, has taken out full-page ads and erected billboards publicizing his commitment to his new found home.

Kobi Dodges Another Bullet - New York Post

Steve Jobs faces new backdating accusations...

And they're from Apple's former CFO, Fred Anderson.  Meanwhile, the SEC has closed their backdating probe into the firm.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

Apple Inc.'s former chief financial officer, in a striking public statement, asserted that Chief Executive Steve Jobs misled him about board actions on stock-options awards, and that he told Mr. Jobs the company might have to take a charge against earnings if it backdated stock-options grants -- a charge it didn't take.

The allegations by Fred Anderson, now a partner in a Silicon Valley private-equity firm, could complicate efforts by Mr. Jobs to stay above the options-backdating fray, which has swept up Apple and more than 140 other companies in federal investigations and forced about 80 corporate executives out of their jobs.

Fugitive Comverse ex-CEO Kobi Alexander's extradition trial begins tomorrow

So what's the still-holed-up-in-his-Namibian-haven fugitive Kobi Alexander up to these days?  The NY Post tells us that he's been busily trying to make himself look good to the Namibian locals by pumping money into their economy before his extradition trial begins tomorrow.  Alexander, out on bail, was arrested in August after a two month international manhunt.

The fugitive former chief of Long Island's Comverse Technology is setting up a scholarship fund in his newly adopted home of Namibia - an apparent bid to curry favor with local authorities just days ahead of the start of his extradition hearing.

Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, who fled the U.S. last summer to avoid facing charges after he allegedly pocketed millions in ill-gotten gains in a stock-option scheme, is pledging $150 million in Namibian currency - the equivalent of about $21,300 U.S. - each year to encourage top students to further their studies in science and technology.

Since settling in the African nation with his wife and kids last summer, the alleged securities scamster has promised to pump money into the Namibian economy, including the construction of 200 homes for low-income residents.

Fugitive 'Kobi' As Namibia Nurturer - New York Post

Morrellwine.com - 1 Rockefeller Plaza NYC

Options backdating: Kobi Alexander may have even been more mischievous than they thought

Was Kobi just lucky?:  Former Comverse CEO Kobi Alexander, still hunkered down in his Namibian haven, may have benefitted in more ways than just the backdating of his options grants.  According to the Wall Street Journal he may have also fudged on the timing of the exercise dates on his options:

Mr. Alexander reported a 1998 option exercise near a notable low in the company's share price. If the timing of that exercise was backdated, Mr. Alexander could have received a substantial, improper break on his personal income-tax bill.

The issue has been referred to the special committee of Comverse directors who are examining the company's grant-backdating problem, according to a person familiar with the matter. The timing of the 1998 exercise was noted in a 13-page Nov. 27 report by Gradient Analytics Inc., a Scottsdale, Ariz., research firm that specializes in the analysis of executive compensation, which Gradient believes can affect share prices. The report was distributed to clients including hedge funds and mutual-fund money managers.

Gradient didn't conclude that Mr. Alexander's exercise was backdated, and his favorable timing might have been just a matter of luck. Robert Morvillo, the lawyer who is representing Mr. Alexander, who is fighting extradition from Namibia, declined to comment.

Comverse Ex-CEO May Have Fudged Option Exercise Dates, Not Just Grants - Wall Street Journal

KB Homes CEO KO'd after he was found to have backdated his own options

An internal investigation at KB Homes disclosed that CEO and chairman Bruce Karatz, one of the nation's highest paid executives, had been found to have his hands in the corporate cookie jar -- he backdated his own option grants, inflating his pay.  Now he's out of a job, along with a couple of his associates.  Jeffrey T. Mezger, the company's chief operating officer, will succeed him as CEO.

KB Home, a home-construction company once known as Kaufman & Broad, said Mr. Karatz would immediately leave his posts as president, CEO and chairman. He will forfeit about $13 million in gains from the backdating as part of an agreement with the company, based in Los Angeles.

Also departing is Richard B. Hirst, executive vice president and chief legal officer, and Gary A. Ray, the head of human resources. Mr. Hirst resigned, and Mr. Ray was terminated, the company said. A person familiar with the investigation said both Mr. Karatz and Mr. Hirst cooperated with the internal investigation.

U.S. finally files formal extradition request for Kobi Alexander, but none yet filed for Wesley Snipes

The U.S. government has submitted a formal request to the Namibian government for the extradition of former Comverse Technologies CEO Kobi Alexander.  Kobi's got more company in Namibia now, which seems to be filling up with American's who are wanted by the feds.  Alleged $12 million tax evader Wesley Snipes is there too, filming a movie, and he'll reportedly be there for awhile; filming wraps in December and Snipes is expected to be there til the end.  The U.S. government hasn't filed extradition papers for him.

Kobi Alexander now faces bribery charges

If he's ever extradited back to the U.S. from his comfy Namibian haven, former Comverse CEO Kobi Alexander will face new charges:

Jacob "Kobi" Alexander, former chief executive of Comverse Technology Inc., offered an unidentified person $5 million to falsely take sole blame for a fraud involving the manipulation of stock options, according to new charges filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn last week.

Alexander, who is living in Namibia in southwestern Africa and is wanted in the United States on criminal fraud charges, first offered the person $2 million, then raised the offer to $5 million, according to an indictment filed on October 11.

Alexander then told the person to "name your price," an offer that he repeated several days later, according to the court document.

The bribery allegation, obstruction-of-justice charges and witness-tampering charges were added to others filed against Alexander in August. The other charges included conspiracy, money laundering and securities fraud.

U.S. adds bribery allegation against ex-Comverse CEO - Reuters

Did Larry Sonsini receive backdated Novell options?

Larry Sonsini, chairman of law firm Wilson Sonsini, may himself have been the beneficiary of backdated options received at their lows from Novell when he was on that company's board in 1999.  That's suggested by an article in the Recorder, a San Francisco legal publication.  Good thing he hired white collar crime lawyer Michael Madigan of Akin Gump recently to represent him in the Hewlett Packard mess.  He may want to keep him on retainer.

Sonsini...was on Novell Inc.'s board when the directors awarded themselves 50,000 stock options each in 1999 — at what turned out to be a 17-month low in the share price, according to the Recorder, a San Francisco-based legal publication.

The timing of Novell's Oct. 26, 1999, grants raises questions about whether the options were issued when Novell said they were, the Recorder said Monday.