Court Bolsters SEC Use of Asset Freeze Tool

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday let stand a ruling against two former Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. executives, bolstering the Securities and Exchange Commission's ability to freeze payments to corporate executives under new federal accounting-fraud laws.

The SEC gained the ability to block payments to executives in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, passed by Congress in response to several high-profile corporate accounting frauds. The agency used the provision in its investigation of a $250 million accounting-fraud scandal at Gemstar, which owns TV Guide, by freezing $37 million in termination payments to former Gemstar chief executive Henry Yuen and top finance executive Elsie Leung while the SEC investigation was pending.

Yuen and Leung appealed the payment freeze, asserting their termination fees and unpaid salary didn't meet the "extraordinary payments" requirement the law set for holding up payments to corporate officers. "The SEC used a strained and erroneous interpretation," attorneys for the two executives said in a court brief.

more...


http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-scotus/2005/oct/11/101106962.html

[Hawkeye-X]

1. SEC should freeze Cheney's assets.

See this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1842415

[NVMojo]

2. excellent!!! thanks for the link!