Now don't go reading anything into this... Eastern District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufi simply observed that Lerach Coughlin's client, the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Fund did not have the largest financial interest in the pending securities class action against telecom co., Comverse (who provided us a few months of blog-fodder when its CEO, Kobi Alexander turned fugitive).

Instead, Judge Garaufi granted lead counsel status to Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross, which is representing Menorah Group, which was determined by the court to have suffered the greatest losses.

-- MDT

Labels: Bill Lerach, class action, Comverse, Kobi Alexander, securities

There are certainly plenty of business medial pundits out there that have weighed in on the stock options backdating with their contention that imbroglio is much ado about nothing. And yet 160 some odd companies are either currently under or facing potential federal investigation and executives have been dropping right and left.

Heck, one guy even fled the country and initiated an international man-hunt.

One of the most prominent options inquiries has been that of Apple Computer (excuse me...Apple, Inc.) and CEO, Steve Jobs. It looked as if Jobs might skate initially because he essentially grew no benefit from the options that were awarded him. Apple's own internal investigation cried no harm no foul and it seemed that the story might just fade away into the din and roar preceding the much anticipated debut of Apple's iPhone.

But the story didn't quite die there. Just when the Apple options issue seemed to be dying down, it was brought roaring back to life by the admission that the minutes of the meeting where Jobs' stock options were granted had been falsified - that no board approval of the grant had taken place. Apple must have known that there was more to in because the quietly fired the execs involved, including long time general counsel, Nancy Heinen and Apple CFO Fred Anderson.

This prompted some to call for Steve Jobs resignation, although no one within Apple itself, notably. And that kind of standing by your man is what Peter Burrows over at BusinessWeek would like us to think of as The Steve Jobs Effect.

And he thinks its catching....

Labels: Apple, backdating, Comverse, Fred Anderson, Kobi Alexander, Nancy Heinen, Steve Jobs, stock options

Former Comverse CEO, Kobe Alexander may have ended his international escapade and been run to ground but the back dating scandal that sent him fleeing in the first place is still haunting the company he left behind. Additional option grant discrepancies have lead to further problems Comverse.

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse

Despite all the ink spilled on Comverse's runaway CEO, Kobi Alexander, there were other executives facing charges in that firm's stock options backdating irregularities. Former Comverse CFO, David Kreinberg has made his peace with regulators and negotiated a settlement. Along with a guilty plea, Kreinberg will no doubt receive a sentence that is more Fastow than Skilling, provided of course that he testified against Alexander when he finally makes it back to the states to stand trial.

-- MDT

Labels: Andy Fastow, Comverse, Kobi Alexander

Susan Lerner at the Jerusalem Post speaks out in defense of Comverse's Kobi Alexander (our favorite former on-the-lam accused white collar criminal), decrying the whole options scandal mess as "not nice" but "not illegal." Kobi is, by the way, out on bail. But if Lerner's point is to be taken seriously, (and she's not the only one doing rep rehab on Alexander right now) the question is not why was Alexander, among other Comverse execs, accused of wrongdoing but rather - why did he run?

Despite Dealberaker's linkbait headline, Apple's Steve Jobs is not going to do time in relation to that company's options probe, although a former CFO of the firm was asked to leave the board. So if there is a defensible - not nice but not illegal - explanation for the contuct of executives at Comverse, trial or even pre-trial is probably the best place to air that out, rather than via emails and sat-phone calls from far flung global hideaways. Dontcha think?

All that said, Alexander apparently plans a not guilty plea. No word on how allegations that he tried to bribe another Comverse exec to take the fall for him will figure in to that, if at all. Extradition, also, is not exactly going to be a quick thing. For my part, well, selfishly I hope Kobi, now that he's again walking the streets, gets the urge to stretch those legs again and head out for the endless vistas with the wind at his back, and global law enforcement on his heels.

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse, Kobi Alexander

Althought the location of literal third man, former-Comverse CEO, Kobi Alexander, remains a mystery two other former execs have plead Not Guilty on related charges. Greg Reyes, Stephanie Jensen both late of Brocade Communications Systems are now out on bail and awaiting trial. Kobi, well, he's still in the wind.

--MDT

Labels: Brocade, Comverse, Kobi Alexander

So maybe locating an international fugitive is not quite the same as capturing an international fugitive. Mr. Alexander is still at large... Run Kobi Run!

Labels: Comverse

Apparently the Sri Lankan rabbit hole of the former Comverse exec was outed based on a brief VoIP telephone call that he made to someone at his home. Private investigator, Moshe Buller, working on behalf of an anonymous venture capital fund, used the IP information from the call to track down Alexander's location. Local authorities were alerted and Alexander later nabbed in a small fishing village.

Let this be a lesson to you would-be corporate criminals - don't underestimate your friendly neighborhood corporate investigator. And you'd think Alexander, who ran a TELECOM company, would be a little more savvy. Global fugitives can't afford to get sloppy. Perhaps Alexander could have, for example, picked a country to hide in with more favorable extradition terms.

Live and learn. I wonder what important life skills Kobi picked up in that Sri Lankan jail?

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse, Kobi Alexander

Kobi Alexander and friends have been given their walking papers by Comverse. Former CEO (and current international fugitive) Alexander along with ex-chief financial officer, David Kreinberg, and ex-corporate secretary Willian Sorin resigned from Comverse last May but up until recently had been retained on consutling contracts by their former company. Criminal investigations have a way of souring such things.

Meanwhile, Alexander, by virture of his recent notariety and Israeli heritage, has found his way into world of the crazy-loon-nutjob conspiracy theory. A shame, when the truth is interesting enough on its own.

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse, Kobi Alexander

And you thought backdating stock options was boring:

The hunt for Jacob Alexander, known as Kobi, was stepped up yesterday after the FBI declared him a fugitive. Alexander, 54, the former chief executive of the communications software company Comverse, was charged last week by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn with conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

He and two other former Comverse executives were charged in connection with their alleged involvement in a stock options scheme that, prosecutors said, used a secret slush fund to dole out options to favoured employees.

Two of the former executives showed up at their arraignment last week, but Alexander did not. The FBI also said yesterday that a red notice was issued for Alexander with the international police organisation Interpol.

More here. And click here for the FBI release on the Comverse three.

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse, fugitive, Kobie Alexander

80 companies under investigation or no, while the ongoing backdating/springloading shenanigans might interest this (recovering) investigator it is not exactly exciting stuff for the average joe. Unless, they were to take a closer look at one of the two criminal cases that arisen from the SEC investigation. The Chicago Tribune runs down the excitement of the Comverse matter:

As options scandal grows, lawyers try to make it no big deal

By Tom Petruno
Columnist for the Los Angeles Times
A Tribune Co. Newspaper
August 13, 2006

The stock-option backdating scandal hadn't been looking like great fodder for screenwriters. Then the government last week announced its case against Comverse Technology Inc. Imaginary employees, a slush fund named for "Phantom of the Opera," a fugitive chief executive--now we're getting the kinds of details that can overcome the eye-glazing effect that the term "option backdating" can induce. This ought to at least be good for a cheap made-for-TV movie...

And how...now we're talking. Read more here.

--MDT

Labels: Comverse

Apple Computer, Mercury Interactive, McAfee, CA, Affiliated Computer Services, Quest Software, and Comverse Technology, Take Two Interactive...just a few of the recent names added to the list of companies facing scrutiny over their handling of executive stock options. What's notable about this list (and also of the 50 some odd companies under investigation) is the number of technolgy companies, as discussed in the L.A. Times:

"...The technology industry is at the center of this, of course, because stock options long have been the preferred type of compensation for tech executives. In the 1990s shareholders were told, over and over, that even though their stakes in tech companies faced continual dilution because of the huge volume of options granted to executives, the awards were necessary to keep the industry's entrepreneurial spirit alive.

What's more, Silicon Valley leaders fought like mad for a decade to prevent accounting regulators from forcing companies to formally record options granted as a business expense. They finally lost in 2004."

Shades of the early mid-1990s securities class action boom, don't you think? More on the still-growing options story, from InformationWeek.

And credit where credit is due to one Professor Erik Lie of the Henry B. Tippie college of business in Iowa City, Iowa, who as been called the whistleblower (a term he rejects) of the option scandal. Lie published a paper last year examining the manner in which option transactions were handled in the 1990s. Lie sent his research to the SEC, who has proved to be very interested indeed. Lie's website can eb found here.

-- MDT

Labels: Comverse, Mercury Interative, Quest