Gemstar chairman avoids jail for now

A federal judge denied for now a request by the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold former Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. Chairman Henry Yuen in contempt and to jail him until he pays $12 million.

U.S. District Judge Mariana Pfaelzer in Los Angeles last year found Yuen liable for securities fraud, ruling that he misled investors and Gemstar’s auditors while he was chief executive of the Hollywood-based company and inflated revenue from 1999 to 2002. He was ordered to pay $22.3 million in fines and forfeitures of bonuses and trading profits.

Gemstar publishes TV Guide and makes software to run cable-TV program guides.

The SEC sought the contempt citation over $12 million of that amount. Pfaelzer said at a hearing Monday that the SEC’s request was premature.

Yuen has made no effort to pay and has about $150 million in assets outside the U.S., an SEC lawyer said at the hearing. A lawyer for Yuen, declined to comment on the judge’s ruling or on Yuen’s whereabouts.