Friday, October 27, 2006
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the filing of civil fraud claims against the former chief executive of auto-parts maker Delphi Corp. and against its former chief financial officer in connection with accounting improprieties, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The SEC's five-member commission voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a settlement with Delphi, in which the auto-parts maker would settle allegations of accounting improprieties that resulted in a multiyear restatement of earnings, the newspaper said on its Web site Thursday. The company, which is in bankruptcy court protection, won't be subject to a penalty, these people said.
Delphi spokeswoman Claudia Piccinin declined to comment, except to say "Delphi has been cooperating with the SEC investigation."
Former chairman and chief executive J.T. Battenberg III will be named in a civil complaint and is expected to fight the allegations, said the people familiar with the matter, the paper said. Battenberg's attorney, William Jeffress, didn't respond to a phone call or e-mail.
Former Chief Financial Officer Alan Dawes also is expected to be charged, said the people familiar with the matter, the paper said. Dawes has agreed to a settlement, which the commission has approved, these people said. Dawes' attorney, Elizabeth Baird, declined to comment.
The two are among nearly a dozen Delphi former executives who will face the civil claims, these people said, according to the newspaper. It is unclear which other former executives will face the civil claims.
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