Date: March 21, 2002
Source: News Room
Federal securities regulators have sued the founder of trash hauler Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WMI) and five other former top executives, accusing them of a "massive" fraud to inflate profits by $1.7 billion to meet earnings targets. The Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in Chicago charged founder and former Chairman Dean Buntrock, ex-President Phillip Rooney, former Chief Financial Officer James Koenig and other executives with falsifying Waste Management's financial results between 1992 and 1997. The civil complaint also claimed the executives were aided by long-time auditor Arthur Andersen, already indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for its role in the collapse of energy giant Enron Corp. The executives have proclaimed their innocence, and Waste Management, which merged with USA Waste several years ago, has publicly distanced itself from its former leaders.
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