This week, it was announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission had charged two former executives of the United States subsidiary of Panasonic Corp. with violating the books and records and internal account control provisions of the federal securities laws. They were also charged with causing similar violations by the parent company. The SEC’s order against Paul A. Margis claims that the then-CEO and president of Panasonic Avionics Corp. used a 3rd party to pay more than $1.76 million to several consultants to help the company obtain and retain business from a state-owned airline.
Panasonic Avionics was accused of falsely recording these payments. Margis circumvented company procedures for engaging the consultants. Margis made materially false or misleading statements to the company’s auditor regarding its internal accounting controls and the accuracy of its books and records. The SEC’s order against Takeshi “Tyrone” Uonaga claims that Uonaga caused Panasonic to improperly record $82 million in revenue based on a backdated contract. At the time, Uonaga served as the Panasonic Avionics’ CFO. He was also accused of making false representations to Panasonic Avionics’ auditor.
The SEC has ordered Margis to pay a penalty of $75,000. Uonaga has been ordered to pay a penalty of $50,000. Further details have been made available here.
