Time Warner settles SEC fraud charges, pays $300 million penalty

NEW YORK (AP) _ Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, is paying $300 million to settle federal fraud charges for overstating online advertising revenues and the number of its Internet

Monday, March 21st 2005, 11:23 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, is paying $300 million to settle federal fraud charges for overstating online advertising revenues and the number of its Internet subscribers, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday.

As part of the agreement, Time Warner will neither admit nor deny the SEC's allegations.

The company also agreed to restate its financial results to reduce the amount of reported online advertising revenues by about $500 million from the fourth quarter of 2000 through 2002. The prior statements will also be changed to include the consolidation of AOL Europe in 2000 and 2001.

Together with a separate settlement with the Department of Justice announced last year, the agreement with the SEC ends a difficult period for the company, which has worked to right itself in the wake of its ill-fated merger with AOL, announced at the peak of the Internet bubble in 2000.