SEC, U.S. Attorney Turn Up Heat on Vitesse

Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 5/19/2006

In a week that already marked the firing of its CEO, CFO and an executive VP, Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. announced that it is now under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Attorney's office in New York.

The SEC’s Division of Enforcement has requested documents from Vitesse dating back as far as January 1, 1995 through the present relating to the grant of stock options.

In addition, Vitesse has received a grand jury subpoena from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of New York, requesting documents from 1999 through the present that refer to, relate to, or involve the granting of stock options.

Vitesse said it plans to fully cooperate with both entities in connection with the document requests.

A number of companies have been investigating their stock option programs in the wake of a March 18 Wall Street Journal article that indicated potential options backdating activity at several companies including Vitesse and Brooks Automation Inc.