Americas

  • United States

Asia

Oceania

by Paul Kerstein

Former Qwest CEO Indicted on Insider Trading

News
Dec 21, 20051 min
CSO and CISOData and Information Security

Joseph Nacchio, the former co-chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) at Qwest Communications International Inc., was indicted Tuesday on 42 counts of insider trading.

Nacchio, CEO at Qwest from January 1997 to June 2002, is accused of using insider information to sell US$100.8 million worth of stock between January and May 2001. Nacchio was indicted in U.S. District Court for the District Colorado.

Nacchio resigned as Qwest’s chief after stockholder questions arose about his $27 million annual compensation package and additional stock options. In March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Nacchio and eight other former Qwest employees with fraud and other violations of the federal securities laws.

In the Colorado charges, Nacchio is accused of selling stock while knowing that Qwest’s publicly released financial guidance predicting the company’s growth was “extremely aggressive,” according to the indictment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver wants Nacchio to forfeit the $100.8 million he made from the alleged insider trading.

Nacchio’s lawyer wasn’t immediately available for comment.

By Grant Gross – IDG News Service (Washington Bureau)