SEC: Former Maxim CEO Pays Fine for Options Backdating

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday filed civil charges against Maxim Integrated Products and the company’s former CEO and CFO, alleging they reported false financial information to investors by improperly backdating stock option grants to Maxim employees and directors.

John Gifford, the company's former president, CEO, and chairman, agreed to pay more than $800,000 in disgorgement, interest, and penalties to settle charges relating to his role in the options backdating, the SEC said. He resigned from the company last year, citing health reasons.

Maxim also consented to a permanent injunction against violations of the antifraud and other provisions of the federal securities laws, the agency said.

The SEC also alleged that Carl Jasper, former Maxim financial chief, “helped the company fraudulently conceal tens of millions of dollars in compensation expenses through the use of backdated, in-the-money option grants.”