Monster’s ex-lawyer pleads guilty

A former top executive of the company that runs the Monster job search website admitted in court Thursday that he illegally backdated millions of dollars in employee stock option grants -- a practice that cheats shareholders.

Myron Olesnyckyj, 45, of New Providence, N.J., pleaded guilty to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud, charges that carry potential penalties of as much as 25 years in prison and fines of more than $5.2 million. He promised to cooperate, which can earn him leniency.

Olesnyckyj, a former Monster senior vice president, agreed to forfeit $381,000, which he said represented the amount he illegally gained. The scheme lasted from 1996 to 2006; he was accused of participating from 1996 to 2003.

Olesnyckyj told U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain that he worked as an attorney at two law firms from 1986 to 1994, when he accepted a position as general counsel for the company that became Monster Worldwide Inc.

Monster went public in 1996. After that, Olesnyckyj said, he and others agreed to backdate annual companywide stock option grants, choosing the dates of the grants after looking at the historical records of the company’s stock price movements. Backdating involves issuing stock options retroactively to coincide with low points in the share price, thus boosting payouts. It can be illegal if it is not properly accounted for and disclosed to investors.

Olesnyckyj said he and others then concealed the backdating from the company’s financial records, which were submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission, auditors, investors and others.

As a result, the company failed to increase its compensation expenses and reduce its earnings accordingly in its financial records, he said.