Former Charter Executives Sentenced

Four former Charter Communications Inc. executives received sentences Friday ranging from 14 months in prison to two years of probation for their roles in an accounting scandal at the nation’s third-largest cable television provider.

U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson in St. Louis said the executives, who pleaded guilty to felony counts related to a scheme to dupe investors, let down their company and deceived investors and regulators. St. Louis-based Charter was not accused of wrongdoing.

Jackson sentenced Kent Kalkwarf, Charter’s former chief financial officer, to 14 months in federal prison and two years of probation. She also ordered him to pay a $200,000 fine.

Charter’s former chief operating officer, David Barford, received a year and a day in prison and two years of probation. He was also ordered to pay a $200,000 fine.

Two former senior vice presidents, David McCall and James Smith III, each received two years of probation. McCall was fined $200,000 and Smith was fined $175,000.

Federal prosecutors said the executives schemed in 2000 and 2001 to inflate revenue and operating cash flow while indicating the firm had more cable subscribers than it really did.

The government said Kalkwarf in August 2000 gave money to Charter’s suppliers of digital set-top boxes, asking them to charge the firm $20 more per set-top box, then having them return the money as advertising revenue. As a result, Charter falsely included more than $17 million as revenue and cash flow for 2000.

The executives also were accused of telling workers to delay disconnecting customers seeking to end their service and those failing to pay their bills until after the end of financial quarters.