McAfee’s former lawyer Kent Roberts has been indicted on charges he backdated stock options for financial gain.
Roberts, fired nine months ago after a probe into backdating of stock options, was charged last week with devising a scheme to defraud by granting himself and others options while hiding their true nature and value from board members and others, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The seven-count indictment alleges that the former general counsel caused the company’s then-controller to change the grant date on his options to a date when their exercise price was lower than the market price, thus securing gains.
Roberts is charged with two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, three counts of making false SEC filings and one court of falsifying books. If convicted, Roberts faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a US$250,000 fine.
McAfee is one of more than 170 US companies currently under investigation for their stock options practices.
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