The SEC said ATM provider Diebold Inc. has agreed to settle an alleged fraudulent accounting case that inflated the company's earnings by at least $127 million.
According to the SEC's complaint against Diebold, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the company manipulated its earnings from at least 2002 through 2007 to meet financial performance forecasts. Diebold's improper accounting practices misstated the company's reported pre-tax earnings by at least $127 million.
Without admitting or denying the SEC's charges, the Ohio-based Diebold agreed to pay a $25 million penalty to settle the SEC's charges, the commission said in a June 2 statement. Diebold's former CEO Walden O'Dell agreed to reimburse cash bonuses, stock, and stock options. The SEC's case against Diebold's former CFO Gregory Geswein, former controller and later CFO Kevin Krakora, and former Director of Corporate Accounting Sandra Miller is ongoing.
"We are pleased that the settlement with the SEC is final," said Thomas Swidarski, Diebold president /CEO, in a June 2 statement. "Moving forward, we will continue to direct our energy and focus toward the essential work of improving our competitive position and creating value for all our stakeholders while maintaining effective financial controls within our processes."
Diebold previously recorded a charge of $25 million to its 2009 first quarter earnings in connection with the penalty to be paid to the SEC.
