Martha Stewart reaches a settlement with SEC

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Aug 8, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homemaking diva Martha Stewart will pay about $195,000 and cannot serve as the director of a public company for five years under a settlement announced Monday on civil insider trading charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under the settlement, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., a multimedia empire dedicated to stylish living, agreed to pay a total of about $195,000 relating to losses the government said she avoided on her sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in December 2001.

In addition to accepting a five-year ban on being a company director, Stewart agreed to limits for five years on her service as an officer or employee of a public company. During that period, she will be prohibited from participating in financial reporting and disclosure, internal controls, audits, SEC filings and monitoring compliance with the federal securities laws.

The terms go into effect on the date the court ratifies the settlement.