NEW YORK—The broadening investigation into stock-option grants continues to plague wireless as federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against three former executives of Comverse Technology Inc.
The criminal complaint, which was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, accuses founder and former Chief Executive Officer Kobi Alexander of conspiring with two other executives to manipulate stock options by pre- or post-dating stock-option grants. Alexander’s alleged co-conspirators, David Kreinberg, former chief financial officer, and former general counsel William Sorin, surrendered to FBI agents early Wednesday.
All three men resigned their posts in May following press inquiries regarding the grants, which were awarded from 1998 to 2001.
More than 80 companies are under federal investigation or have initiated internal reviews of possible manipulation of stock-option grants. Other wireless players that have become ensnared in the probe include American Tower Corp., Boston Communications Group Inc., Openwave Systems Inc. and VeriSign Inc.
