“Grand Theft Auto” CEO Pleads Guilty To Stock Fraud
February 14, 2007 8:32 p.m. EST
Matthew Borghese – All Headline News Staff Writer
New York, NY (AHN) – Ryan A. Brant, the founder and former chairman of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., has opted to plead guilty rather than face a possible prison sentence after backdating stock options.
Brant, becomes the first CEO to be convicted in a wave of prosecutions alleging stock misconduct, and will pay a $7.26 million fine under charges of first-degree falsification of business records.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau says, “We believe this is the first time a CEO has ever been convicted of backdating options. As far as we know it’s the first time in the country.”
“CEOs and other executives who deliberately skew their books to hide the full extent of their compensation are engaged in a fraud on their stockholders and creditors.”
Take-Two Interactive made national media attention with its gaming franchise, “Grand Theft Auto.”
