Carey Urges SEC to Go Easy on Apple
In April 2009 Dennis Carey authored an article which appeared in the on-line journal “Directorship-Boardroom Intelligence,” entitled, “The SEC’s
Bad Rx for Boards.” In this article Carey questions the priorities and practices of the SEC, pointing out that although there were hints and tips concerning the questionable (to say the least) business practices of Bernie Madoff and R. Allen Stanford for at least 10 years, instead of improving investigations in this type of transgression, the SEC is instead spending valuable time and money exploring the less vital issue of whether the board of Apple Corporation misrepresented the state of their CEO’s, Steve Jobs’, health.
Bad Rx for Boards.” In this article Carey questions the priorities and practices of the SEC, pointing out that although there were hints and tips concerning the questionable (to say the least) business practices of Bernie Madoff and R. Allen Stanford for at least 10 years, instead of improving investigations in this type of transgression, the SEC is instead spending valuable time and money exploring the less vital issue of whether the board of Apple Corporation misrepresented the state of their CEO’s, Steve Jobs’, health.Dennis Carey quotes the former Commissioner of the SEC, Joseph Grundfest as saying that Apple did not cross any red line even if they did fail to provide complete disclosures concerning Jobs’ health, as long as there was no insider trading based on this privileged information before it was made public.
“One of the hallmarks of a complex medical condition is a diagnosis can change over time,” Grundfest said. “If the board has told the truth, then they’ve handled it best as they could.”
Dennis Carey goes further, explaining why it would be a great mistake for the SEC to bring a case against Apple, saying that, ”it would set an alarming precedent and open the floodgates to frivolous lawsuits from shareholders curious about a CEO’s health and personal life.”
Advertisement
