Former ConAgra execs named in complaint |
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Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:46
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DENVER (AP) - Federal regulators filed a civil complaint Friday accusing three former ConAgra Foods Inc. executives of improper accounting practices that helped pump up profit statements.The Securities and Exchange Commission named former Chief Financial Officer James P. O'Donnell, former controller Jay D. Bolding and Debra L. Keith, a former vice president of taxes, as defendants in the complaint filed in U.S. District Court.It alleged improper accounting from fiscal 1999 through 2001.A ConAgra spokesman did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment after business hours Friday evening.The SEC alleged ConAgra failed to record adequate income tax expense in fiscal 1999 and improperly reduced various excess reserves in fiscal 1999 through 2001.It also alleged numerous income tax errors between fiscal 2002 and 2005 during which ConAgra was accused of improperly accounting for tax benefits and understating tax expenses, leading it to overstate net income and per-share earnings in its public filings.The errors caused ConAgra to misstate its reported income before income taxes by nearly $112.8 million and to overstate net income and per-share earnings from the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 and the third quarter of 2001, the SEC alleged.ConAgra restated its financial results in June 2001, the SEC said. In April 2005, it restated results for fiscal years 2002 through the first half of fiscal 2005, the SEC said.The SEC alleged the errors allowed the defendants to receive larger bonuses and performance-based compensation.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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