SEC Charges Former General Counsel Of Monster Worldwide, Inc. For Role In Options Backdating Scheme

sec.gov, Feb 23, 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the filing of a civil action in federal district court in New York, New York against Myron F. Olesnyckyj, the former general counsel of Monster Worldwide, Inc. The Commission charged Olesnyckyj with securities fraud for participating in a multi-year scheme to secretly backdate stock options granted to thousands of Monster officers, directors and employees.

The complaint alleges that, from 1997 through 2003, Olesnyckyj backdated stock options grants to coincide with the dates of  low closing prices for the Company's common stock, resulting in grants of in-the-money options to numerous individuals. When making grants of options, certain officers and employees at Monster would select a low closing stock price at which they wanted to grant stock options. Olesnyckyj, or others acting at his direction, then prepared backdated documentation for Monster's Compensation Committee containing the grant date that reflected the low closing price for Monster's common stock. Olesnyckyj then caused Monster to misrepresent in its periodic filings and proxy statements that all stock options were granted at the fair market value of the stock on the date of the award, when that was simply not the case. In fact, by backdating the options, Monster granted undisclosed compensation to its employees, failed to recognize compensation expenses, and overstated its net income by $340 million from 1997 through 2005. Olesnyckyj, 45 and a resident of  New Providence, New Jersey, personally profited by receiving backdated options. Read more at sec.gov.