Wireless manager accused of fraud

A former stock option administrator for Wireless Facilities Inc. of San Diego secretly issued himself shares and options to reap at least $7.7 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday.

Vencent Donlan, 44, defrauded the company and investors by transferring securities in 2002 and 2003 to an account he held with his wife, the SEC said in a lawsuit filed against the couple this week. A federal judge in San Diego froze the couple’s assets Thursday, the SEC said.

Wireless Facilities, which builds and manages networks for telephone carriers, hired Donlan as a temporary employee in 2002 and later appointed him to process employee option grants, the SEC said. He left the firm in 2004.

The company said it would seek to recover damages on behalf of its shareholders. Neither Donlan nor his attorney could be reached for comment.