ConAgra Foods Inc. will pay a $45 million civil fine as part of a settlement with federal regulators who accused the company of using improper accounting to help it meet Wall Street expectations, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Denver on Tuesday, accusing ConAgra of “improper, and in certain instances fraudulent” accounting in fiscal 1999 through 2001.
As a result, the SEC alleged, ConAgra misreported profits between the first quarter of fiscal 1999 and the third quarter of fiscal 2001.
The packaged-food company did not admit or deny the SEC charges as part of the settlement.
It also doesn’t expect the settlement to affect its earnings because ConAgra has already recorded charges totaling $47.7 million in anticipation of settling with the SEC, ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said.
