Gemstar Seeks New Yuen Probe

Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. is asking a second U.S. attorney’s office to investigate allegations of criminal wrongdoing by ex-Chief Executive Henry Yuen, escalating a battle with the executive who presided over the company during a $248-million accounting scandal.

The request for a probe by federal prosecutors in Florida, revealed in court papers filed by the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles this week, represents a new push by the company for a harsh sentence for Yuen.

Gemstar is opposing a plea deal Yuen made with Los Angeles prosecutors that calls for him to serve six months of home detention.

Stanley Arkin, Yuen’s attorney, said the company’s bid to involve the Florida prosecutors was another ploy by Gemstar to avoid paying Yuen millions of dollars it owes him in severance.

Yuen, 57, pleaded guilty in October to obstructing a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into the accounting missteps at Gemstar.

Hollywood-based Gemstar, the publisher of TV Guide, said its “general policy is not to comment on pending legal matters, but the company has and will continue to cooperate with all government investigations into the conduct of the company’s former executives.”

The company said in a Nov. 4 court filing that Yuen’s plea agreement, which is subject to approval by a federal judge, is a “slap on the wrist” and “a travesty of justice.”

Yuen could be sentenced to five years in prison if the plea agreement is rejected by U.S. District Judge John Walter, who has scheduled a Dec. 19 hearing in Los Angeles to review the case. Along with home confinement, the deal calls for Yuen to pay a $250,000 fine and make a $1-million charitable contribution.