AOL's fraudulent accounting probe widened
Reuters | at | by Mike
U.S. federal investigators have widened the probe of AOL Time Warner Inc. and two of its former key executives to include alleged "aiding and abetting" of schemes by other firms to artificially inflate reported revenue, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that at the heart of the investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission was an examination of alleged schemes in which AOL and other companies exchanged cash through sham transactions.
The Washington Post said, quoting the sources, that the expansion of the probe raises the potential exposure of AOL and the individuals involved because they could be found culpable not only for the firm's own accounting irregularities but also for the financial misconduct of others.