Former Monster exec found guilty of fraud

NEW YORK, May 13 (UPI) -- Former Monster Worldwide Inc. executive James Treacy was convicted in New York of securities fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

After a three-week trial the former chief operating officer and company president was convicted of conspiring to file false statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and doctoring company books to cover backdating millions of dollars worth of employee stock options.

A jury found Treacy guilty of one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy on Tuesday, the Justice Department said in a statement.

As a result of the fraud, Monster understated the company's compensation expenses by more than $300 million from 1997 to 2005, the Justice Department said.

Monster reported a net income of $69 million in 2001, but correcting the backdated compensation expenses in 2006 dropped the figure to $3.43 million, Justice said.

While working for Monster, Treacy received "in excess of 1 million backdated options … on eight different grant dates," the statement said.

Treacy, who is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 25, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the fraud count and five years in prison on the conspiracy conviction.