Brooklyn, NY – Former Comverse CFO Cooperates With The Government In Its Prosecution Of His Ex-Boss

Brooklyn, NY – Former Comverse Technology Inc. chief financial officer David Kreinberg implicated his ex-boss as he pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in the US probe of illegal manipulation of employee stock option grants.

Kreinberg, 41, is the first executive to plead guilty in the biggest probe of corporate wrongdoing since late trading of mutual funds three years ago led to $4.3 billion in penalties.
Former Comverse chief executive Jacob “Kobi” Alexander directed a scheme to systematically backdate stock option grants, Kreinberg claimed in Brooklyn federal court. Contrary to Comverse’s securities filings, Kreinberg told US District Judge Nicholas Garaufis “the company was in fact issuing backdated options with an exercise price lower than the fair market value on the grant date.”

Kreinberg, facing up to 15 years in prison, may help prosecutors extradite Alexander, who was arrested in Namibia last month. The former Comverse finance chief agreed to cooperate with the government in its prosecution of Alexander, and in related civil lawsuits as part of a separate $2.4 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.