Carl W. Jasper

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 21598 / July 22, 2010

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carl W. Jasper, Civil Action No. C 07-6122 JW (N.D. Cal., filed December 4, 2007)

Court Enters Permanent Injunction, Officer and Director Bar, Civil Penalty, and Forfeiture of Bonuses and Stock Sale Proceeds Pursuant to Section 304(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Against Former CFO Carl W. Jasper Following A Jury's Verdict for the Commission in Stock Options Backdating Case

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that, on July 21, 2010, following a jury's verdict for the Commission, the Honorable James Ware of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered judgment against Defendant Carl W. Jasper imposing a permanent injunction against future violations of the federal securities laws and other relief, including a bar against serving as an officer or director of a public company for two years, a civil monetary penalty, and forfeiture of bonuses and stock sales pursuant to Section 304(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The judgment resolves the Commission's civil action and grants relief sought against Jasper in a Complaint filed on December 4, 2007.  In its Complaint, the Commission had alleged that Jasper, the former CFO of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., a Silicon Valley semiconductor company, participated in a years-long fraudulent scheme to report false financial information to investors.

The Commission's Complaint alleged, among other things, that between 2000 and 2005, Jasper helped Maxim fraudulently conceal hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation expenses through the use of backdated, "in-the-money" options grants.  The Commission's complaint also alleged that Jasper was aware of the improper backdating practices, drafted backdated grant approval documents for Maxim's CEO to sign, and signed several financial statements that he knew or was reckless in not knowing were materially false and misleading.  Following an eight-day trial in United States District Court in San Jose, California, a jury found Jasper liable for, among other violations, fraud and lying to auditors.

The judgment (i) permanently enjoins Jasper from violating the federal securities laws; (ii) bars Jasper from serving as an officer or director of a public company for two years; (iii) orders Jasper to pay a $360,000 civil monetary penalty; and (iv) orders Jasper to forfeit $1,869,639 in bonuses and stock sale proceeds earned by Jasper.

For additional information, please see Litigation Release Nos. 20381 (December 4, 2007) and 21507 (April 26, 2010)