SEC to accuse Time Warner with fraudulent accounting
Reuters | at | by Mike
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to formally accuse Time Warner Inc. of improperly booking more than $400 million in advertising revenue, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.
The case alleges that Time Warner and its America Online unit misled investors about the financial health of AOL by pumping up ad revenue in numerous deals, and by inflating AOL subscriber numbers, the newspaper said.
Citing federal sources, the newspaper said the improperly booked revenue related mainly to an ad deal with German media company Bertelsmann AG following Time Warner's 2001 merger with America Online.