Steve Jobs Subpoenaed in Apple Options Case

By Ed Oswald | Published September 20, 2007, 4:30 PM

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to testify in a options case against his former general counsel Nancy Heinen, sources say.

The subpoena was issued last month, and does not target him, according to Wall Street Journal sources. Instead, it focuses around Heinen's own actions in falsifying company documents, as well as tampering with Jobs' and her own options.

Heinen has denied any wrongdoing, and Apple has refused to comment publicly on the matter. A total of three people are being asked to testify, including Heinen, Jobs, and an unknown third individual.

The courts have not set a trial date, although Jobs' testimony is expected to be taken in November. It is likely the case will not go to trial until late 2008 or early 2009, according to the proposed dates from both sides.

So far, only one Apple official has settled any allegations of wrongdoing. Former CFO Fred Anderson settled with the SEC in April for $150,000 in fines, and agreeing to forfeit about $3.49 million in profits obtained from his own stock options.

As part of his settlement, Anderson was able to settle without making any admission of guilt.

Comments

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It seems that with all the money people like Steve Jobs and Michale Dell make they would be able to do business in the United States without breaking the law. It all comes down to low morals and greed, the driving force behind big business today.

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You can't blame it all on corporate america. If the government didn't give them a green light, do you think it will be this out of control?

Just think about their so call punishments. If you take in $10 million, the court will fine you like 250k or something. If you are convicted, you are send to a vacation spot.

That's why, if you going to do crime in the US, do something big, don't steal a loaf of bread, create a corporation and rob your shareholders blinds.

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Amen. I hope Jobs will either be jailed for life or get executed.

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I second that!

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"As part of his settlement, Anderson was able to settle without making any admission of guilt."

Corporate America at its finest.

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If only I could find a really compelling reason to disagree with you here...

..."settlements" in our court system have always been something I've despised. They do nothing but encourage folks to assist those who committ crimes because, if they have or are co-conspirators, they can "settle" in exchange for some testimony. Apparently, one need only be punished for their crimes if they committ them alone and are caught doing so, but if you help catch others who helped you, your crime needn't be punished.

Stupid logic. Yeah, without some of those 'settlements' I'm sure the big criminals may have never been caught, but I believe there must never be compromise when it comes to that. It gives an inconsistent message to criminals, like spanking your child for yelling in a grocery store but not at the mall--or spanking them one day for it and not when they do the same thing the next day. It's*** and miss; therefore, criminals will start depending and expecting the miss.

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Hell, I barely know everything that's going on in my own family, never mind a huge company!

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You don't need to know everything, you just need to know about the big thing and decision. Option, in this case is a big decision. The board of directors have to approve it. And guess what, Jobs is part of the board.

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And of course - Steve Jobs is completely innocent. Although running the company, he had no knowledge of what was going on.

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The shareholders might be be able to forgive him, since we've doubled our investment this year.

They could have just handed out bonuses and nobody would have said boo, but no, in corporate America we've got to try to cheat somebody.

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