Ex-AOL finance chief kelly settles SEC suit for $260,000
Former AOL Inc. finance chief John Michael Kelly agreed to pay $260,000 to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission suit claiming he helped overstate Internet ad revenue at the company.
The SEC sued eight former AOL executives in 2008, including Kelly and another former chief financial officer, Joseph Ripp, claiming they helped inflate revenue at the company by more than $1 billion from 2000 to 2002.
In a judgment signed by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in Manhattan today, Kelly agreed to turn over $200,000 in profits he allegedly made from the scheme and pay a $60,000 penalty. Kelly didn't admit or deny the allegations in agreeing to settle.
AOL agreed in 2005 to pay $300 million to settle a related investigation.
The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Kelly, 08-CV-4612, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).