Former Apple general counsel denies backdating involvement
Nancy Heinen, the former general counsel at Apple, filed court papers Friday denying charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that she orchestrated stock option backdating at the company.
Bloomberg reported that the court papers deny the specific charge that Heinen ordered another lawyer in Apple's legal department to prepare documents authorizing a stock option grant to CEO Steve Jobs with an earlier grant date. However, the documents told a story of a board meeting that never took place, drawing the ire of the SEC and forcing Apple to record charges to reflect the true value of the options.
Heinen and former CFO Fred Anderson have been the public scapegoats for Apple's backdating scandal. While Jobs has admitted that he was aware favorable grant dates were being selected, he has said he didn't understand the accounting implications, and the SEC has thus far declined to charge him with anything. Anderson has settled his case with the SEC, but fired back at Jobs with a press release stating he had in fact informed Jobs of the implications. Apple's board of directors absolved Jobs of any wrongdoing after an internal investigation.
Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, online advertising, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. 
