DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it wants the former
chief executive of CSK Auto Corp. to reimburse the auto-parts
retailer and former shareholders $4.1 million for bonuses and
proceeds from stock sales while the company was committing
accounting fraud.
The move is the first for the commission using so-called
clawback provisions under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to seek return of
bonuses that otherwise wouldn't have been paid if wrongdoing hadn't
occurred.
Ex-CEO Maynard Jenkins "was captain of the ship and profited
during the time that CSK was misleading investors about the
company's financial health," said Rosalind R. Tyson, director of
the SEC's Los Angeles regional office. "The law requires Jenkins to
return those proceeds to CSK."
Jenkins, said to live in Scottsdale, Ariz., couldn't immediately
be reached for comment.
CSK was acquired a year ago by O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY),
which had no comment on the matter.
Four former executives were charged in March by the SEC with
securities fraud, alleging they "orchestrated a multi-million
dollar accounting scheme to inflate the company's financial
results" from 2002 through 2004. The company settled with the SEC
in May without having to make any payments.
-By Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354;
kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com