Dell has agreed to pay $100 million in civil penalties to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that the company used fraudulent accounting to appear to meet Wall Street earnings targets.
In addition, the SEC said Thursday company founder Michael Dell agreed to pay a $4 million penalty for failing to disclose payments the company received from Intel for not using processors from the latter company’s main rival Advanced Micro Devices. The exclusivity payments made it possible for company Dell to meet or exceed financial analysts’ earnings estimates from fiscal year 2002 through fiscal year 2006.
The company and founder Dell released a statement saying they agreed to the settlements “without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, as is consistent with standard SEC practice.” The settlements will have to be approved by a U.S. District Court.
Full story: Dell Settles SEC Charges, Pays $100 Million — Dell — InformationWeek