Former Beazer Homes Chief Financial Officer James O'Leary agreed with federal investigators to give back $1.4 million in bonuses and profits from stock sales from a period when the Atlanta-based home builder was allegedly committing accounting fraud.
It was the latest in a string of legal incidents that have battered the company along with the recession. Its stock price, the number of homes it has built and its closings have all dropped precipitously in recent years.
O'Leary was not personally charged with misconduct, but he certified fraudulent financial reports in 2006 that were orchestrated by former vice president Michael T. Rand, according to a suit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, O’Leary agreed to pay back the money within 30 days of entry of the court order approving the settlement.
"This concludes our case against Mr. O'Leary," William P. Hicks, the SEC's Associate Director of Enforcement in Atlanta, said Tuesday.
The case against Rand is continuing.
Last March, CEO Ian McCarthy agreed to return $6.4 million in bonuses, incentives and stock sale profits in a deal similar to O'Leary's. Beazer fired McCarthy in June.
He led Beazer when it was the target of another federal investigation for mortgage fraud in North Carolina that ended in 2009 with the company agreeing to pay up to $55 million in restitution.
