SAN FRANCISCO — The former human resources chief of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. Stephanie Jensen was convicted in December of conspiracy and falsifying corporate records at the networking equipment maker.

District Court Judge Charles Breyer in a wavering voice and choking back tears before he handed down the sentence. I stand before you today with sadness and humility and regret.

I accept responsibility for my actions. Jensen and her former boss, former Brocade chief executive Gregory Reyes, were the first two executives to go on trial over backdating when their cases went before separate juries in U. District Court for the Northern District of California last year. The punishments in both cases indicate the offenses are viewed as serious crimes deserving of prison time and steep fines — though not as harmful to shareholders as other types of securities fraud such as insider trading, which regularly triggers steeper sentences.

Jensen dabbed tears from her eyes after the hearing and embraced friends and family members in the packed courtroom. Her defense lawyer, Jan Little, declined to comment, as did prosecutors from the U.

Options give employees the right to buy shares of stock at a predetermined time. Reyes and Jensen were accused of manipulating the options awards to prized Brocade workers from to to boost the payout for those workers and hide from investors how much the awards truly cost Brocade, making it appear Brocade was more profitable than it actually was.

Brocade backdating scandal turns criminal | InfoWorld

Reyes was convicted in August on all 10 counts of securities fraud he faced. The backdating scandal erupted around the country in on revelations that companies were manipulating options awards to employees and not taking the appropriate charges for the practice as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission requires.

A total of 17 executives have been hit with criminal charges for the practice. Nine have pleaded guilty. The charged executives come from a range of companies, including chip maker Broadcom Corp. Click to share on Facebook Opens in new window Click to share on Twitter Opens in new window Click to email this to a friend Opens in new window Click to print Opens in new window. Ex-Brocade HR chief gets 4 months in prison in options backdating case.

Ex-Brocade HR chief gets 4 months in prison in options backdating case – The Mercury News

She faced as many as 12 months in prison. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents!

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Backdating: Insight Into A Scandal

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