NEW YORK-Symbol Technologies Inc. and several of the company’s former executives, including its former president and chief executive officer, have been officially charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with securities fraud and related violations.
In a settlement, Symbol will pay a $37 million penalty to the SEC, to be distributed to injured investors. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Symbol and the executives engaged in several instances of fraudulent accounting practices and other misconduct from at least 1998 until early 2003. According to the SEC, the fraud and misconduct led the company to report revenues inflated by more than $230 million and pre-tax earnings off more than $530 million.
