MicroStrategy Execs Settle SEC Charges

Three executives at software provider MicroStrategy Inc. agreed to pay $11 million to settle charges they overstated the company’s revenue and earnings, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Without admitting or denying the charges, co-founders Michael Saylor and Sanjeev Bansal and former Chief Financial Officer Mark Lynch agreed to pay about $10 million, plus $1 million in penalties. The SEC had alleged that, from the time of MicroStrategy’s initial public offering in June 1998 through March 2000, the company overstated revenue and earnings. On March 20, MicroStrategy said it was restating financial results for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, prompting a one-day plunge of 67% in its stock, from $260 to $86. Shares of the Vienna, Va.-based company closed up 75 cents at $15.38 on Nasdaq.