ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted two former America Online executives and four associates on conspiracy and fraud charges.
The indictment accuses the two executives of inflating revenue and lying to investors about the true nature of the companies' financial results, the Washington Post reported Tuesday.
Some of the executives forged and back-dated contracts and lied to auditors and then attempted to cover up the scheme by destroying documents and e-mails and lying to federal authorities, U.S. prosecutors say.
Prosecutors also allege that the four associates who worked for AOL's business partner, PurchasePro.com Inc., personally benefited from the scheme by collecting millions in bonuses and stock options.
AOL's parent, Time Warner Inc., already has agreed to pay $510 million to settle criminal and civil charges stemming from a wide-ranging accounting scandal at the online unit, including AOL's dealings with PurchasePro.
