Backdating Bite: $10 Million, but No Jail

Marvel indeed.

Marvell Technology Group and one of its co-founders, Weili Dai, must be wide-eyed with astonishment today after the Securities and Exchange Commission slapped a king-sized $10 million fine on the semiconductor company.

The S.E.C. charged Marvell with reporting false financial information by improperly backdating stock option grants to employees. The company is one of many caught up in a widespread accounting fraud controversy over backdated options.

In addition to the company's hefty penalty, Dai will pay a $500,000 fine for her role in the scheme. Dai is married to Marvell C.E.O. and co-founder Sehat Sutardja and was Marvell's chief operating officer from April 2006 to May 2007.

Marvell settled with the S.E.C. without denying or admitting guilt.

Marvell overstated its income by $362 million between 2000 and 2006, according to the S.E.C., with Dai acting as the company's "Stock Option Committee."

During this period, Dai backdated stock options to dates with lower stock prices, falsely representing that the options had been granted at market price on earlier dates.

In addition to the fine, Marvell consented to a permanent injunction against further violations of federal securities laws, while Dai agreed to an order barring her from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years.

Based in Santa Clara, California, Marvell Technology Group develops storage, consumer and communications semiconductor products.

by Alfonso Serrano F.