Here’s a report saying that there is likely more to the Apple Computer stock options issue than has been admitted. Supposedly Steve Jobs himself was granted a huge amount (7.5 million) in 2001 without approval from the board of directors - the approval was faked. Luckilly, Jobs never exercised these options and therefore didn’t profit personally.

However, the people responsible for this charade should be called out. At this point, I don’t care what effect it has on the stock price. Apple likely has some great products in the pipeline for 2007 that will carry the company through. And I’d certainly appreciate a statement from Jobs as to what his take on the story is.

Whether or not anybody profited from these option backdating issues, my two cents is that the SEC is very throrough and will find out any financial oddities eventually - even if it takes years. I worked for a startup (SoftBook Press) that was acquired by Gemstar-TV Guide several years ago, which was eventually investigated by the SEC. The CEO at the time was charged with securities fraud, along with several other executives - and the story continues to this day. At one point, I was contacted regarding my shares (of which I had sold everything) which shows they were going down the employee rolls, making sure every grant was accounted for.

So I’ll just state the obvious which is: play the game straight. I have little sympathy for any executives who get caught up in this options backdating thing. They’re already getting millions of options. Why risk being charged with a crime (which will forever taint a career) for even more cash?

Disclosure: I own a tiny amount of Apple stock.

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