San Jose, Calif. – Shares of Apple Computer Inc. had another wild ride Thursday after new details of a federal investigation into the company’s stock-options practices raised questions about the role played by its charismatic chief executive, Steve Jobs.
Shares of the iPod and Macintosh computer maker closed at $80.87, down 65 cents, or less than 1 percent, after falling more than 2 percent during the day. On Wednesday, shares slid 5 percent before rebounding.
Citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Jobs received 7.5 million stock options in 2001 without the required board authorization and that documents were later falsified to indicate otherwise.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at those documents among other evidence in its review of Apple’s backdating of stock options, the British newspaper said.
Backdating is the manipulation of the timing of stock options to bolster the profits of executives and employees. Apple is among nearly 200 companies ensnared in the scandal and that have disclosed SEC, Department of Justice or internal investigations.
Full details of Apple’s options troubles have yet to emerge, but the Cupertino-based company largely exonerated Jobs in October when it said an internal probe had not found any misconduct by current management. The probe did raise serious questions, however, about two former officers, Apple said.
Experts who would speak only generally without any facts about the Apple imbroglio say that if Jobs knew about the falsification of documents, he could be in trouble.
