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Article: SEC suing former executives; Waste Management Inc.: Founder and 5 former top officers are accused of fraud
- Article from:
- Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque)
- Article date:
- March 27, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2002 Telegraph - Herald (Dubuque). Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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WASHINGTON (AP) - A half-dozen former executives of Waste
Management Inc. were accused Tuesday of inflating earnings by $1.7
billion as part of an accounting fraud scheme designed to enrich
themselves and dupe shareholders.
Embattled auditing firm Arthur Andersen LLP helped perpetrate the
scheme, identifying 32 "must-do" steps to cover it up, the Securities
and Exchange Commission said.
Waste Management's founder and five other former top officers were
named in the lawsuit. SEC officials alleged the executives engaged in
"massive earnings management fraud" from 1992 to 1997 that ultimately
cost shareholders more than $6 billion.
In Tuesday's civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court in ...