SEC sues Former Apple General Counsel Nancy Heinen over Backdating Stock Options

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as we expected, filed charges "[accusing] ... former General Counsel Nancy R. Heinen of participating in the fraudulent backdating of options granted to Apple's top officers that caused the company to underreport its expenses by nearly $40 million. The Commission's complaint alleges that Heinen, of Portola Valley, Calif., caused Apple to backdate two large options grants to senior executives of Apple — a February 2001 grant of 4.8 million options to Apple's Executive Team and a December 2001 grant of 7.5 million options to Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs — and altered company records to conceal the fraud."

An attorney for Ms. Heinen disputed the claims and stated that she will fight the charges in court.

Fred Anderson, former Apple Chief Financial Officer, was also accused of improprieties but settled with the SEC, as we noted yesterday, by agreeing to pay, in essence, a $3.65 million fine. He lashed out at Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the former Apple General Counsel in a statement blaming them for what happened. [Bill Fox]