SEC Gives Penalties for Two Corporate Fraud Cases; International Company to Pay $7.5M

Recent reports stated that the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission announced two cases of fraud that became very vital to investors in terms of finances. Computer accessories maker Logitech International SA and the currently questionable car battery maker Ener1 Inc. are now being asked to pay unimaginable amounts for their violations.

According to My Informs, Andrew Ceresney, Head of SEC Enforcement Division, was quoted on his statement recently, saying, "We are intensely focused on whether companies and their officers evaluate judgmental accounting issues in good faith and based on GAAP." In definition, GAAP stands for generally accepted accounting principles.

As per Sonoran Weekly Review, Logitech officially agreed to pay the amount of $7.5 million which serves as penalty and for settlement for some severe charges. Logitech was proven to have inflated its fiscal 2011 results to acquire its earnings guidance or marker, along with other committed accounting violations for the past five years that resulted to restatement in 2014.

In the same manner, Erik Bardman, Former Chief Financial Officer and Jennifer Wolf, former acting controller, suffered being charged with minimizing inventory write-downs of a weak-sold TV set-top device; reasoning out that they experienced "substantial pressure" whilst attaining the guidance appointed.

Reuters delivered that as for Ener1, there are three former top executives that affirmed to paying fines due to the overstating of revenue and assets during late 2010 and early 2011 when the company failed to provide write-offs for Norwegian electric car maker and major customer, Think. Former CEO Charles Gassenheimer, former CFO Jeffrey Seidel and former Chief Accounting Officer Robert Kamischke are to account for the fines of $100,000, $50,000 and $30,000.

There were no personal confessions or admitting from defendants regarding any of their wrong doings. The legal council of Logitech, Bardman Wolf, Ener1 and Gassenheimer did not divulge any quick responses or comments. As for Bardman and Wolf, their lawsuits aim for civil fines, with the recouping of ill-gotten gains and bonuses, as well as bans from rendering their services as officers or directors of public companies.

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SEC Sets Penalties for Two Corporate Fraud Cases, Logitech, Ener1 Inc., SEC

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