Hillman Quoted on SEC Charges Against Nortel in Bloomberg News
Robert Hillman, a professor of law who teaches securities law at UC Davis, was quoted by Bloomberg News on the settlement reached between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Nortel Networks Corporation.
SEC filed civil fraud charges against Nortel Networks Corporation and its principal operating subsidiary Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel) alleging that Nortel engaged in accounting fraud from 2000 through 2003 to close gaps between its true performance, its internal targets and Wall Street expectations. Nortel is a Canadian manufacturer of telecommunications equipment.
Without admitting or denying the Commission's charges, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Nortel has agreed to settle the Commission's action by consenting to be permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal control provisions of the federal securities laws and by paying a $35 million civil penalty, which the Commission will seek to place in a Fair Fund for distribution to affected shareholders.
The SEC's penalty in the Nortel case was the first levied under a policy established this year by Chairman Christopher Cox requiring enforcement staff to get approval from the agency's commissioners before negotiating corporate fines.
"Obviously, Mr. Cox is failing to get a consensus on this issue,'' said Hillman.
Prior to joining the UC Davis School of Law faculty, Hillman was general counsel for Star-Kist Foods, a job that took him throughout Southeast Asia, West Africa, Latin America, and Europe. After joining the UC Davis faculty in 1984, he evaluated Chinese law schools as a consultant for the World Bank and taught two semesters at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. He has also taught at New York University, Duke, Georgia, and Florida State
Bloomberg News/October 15, 2007