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Falsified Documents

Apple and Steve Jobs in particular are increasingly feeling the heat from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.


'Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computer, was handed 7.5m stock options in 2001 without the required authorisation from the company's board of directors, according to people familiar with the matter', reported the Financial Times on Wednesday.

'Records that purported to show a full board meeting had taken place to approve Mr Jobs' remuneration, as required by Apple's procedures, were later falsified.'

The faked documents were revealed in a three month internal probe concluded in October.

'When there are falsified documents, government view them as an intent to defraud, because people generally don't falsify documents unless they're trying to make things different from reality', says backdating expert Keith Krakaur.

A statement by Apple in October in response to the probes stated the company's own investigations 'raised serious concerns regarding the actions of two former officers in connection with the accounting, recording and reporting of stock option grants'.

Those two former officers are Nancy Heinen and Fred Anderson.

General counsel Heinen left Apple earlier in the spring after a row with Steve Jobs unrelated to the current backdating scandal. Former Apple CFO Anderson who retired from his position in 2004 stayed on the Apple board until October of this year.

Both officers have now retained legal counsel.

Suspicion is growing against Steve Jobs as well. For even if Jobs returned options that were not properly authorised and were backdated, the replacement split adjusted shares he was given were also backdated.

Steve Jobs has now retained legal counsel.

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