New York, July 23: Computer maker Dell agreed Thursday to pay $100 million to settle a fraud lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The regulatory body had alleged that Dell misled investors when it failed to disclose secret payments it had received from chip-maker Intel in return for not using products made by AMD, Intel's smaller rival. The Intel payments enabled Dell to reach its earnings targets from 2001 through 2006, the SEC claimed.
In addition to the $100 million fine paid by the company, founder and chief executive Michael Dell agreed to pay $4 million personally, as did former chief executive Kevin Rollins. James Schneider, Dell's former chief financial officer, agreed to pay a $3 million fine.
"Accuracy and completeness are the touchstones of public company disclosure under the federal securities laws," SEC enforcement director Robert Khuzami said.
"Michael Dell and other senior Dell executives fell short of that standard repeatedly over many years, and today they are held accountable."