The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former McDonald's CEO Stephen J. Easterbrook with making "false and misleading statements" to investors about his firing in 2019.
The executive entered into a $40 million separation agreement on the basis that he was fired without cause, when in reality it was related to his inappropriate relationship with an employee. At issue was Easterbrook's equity holdings. The agreement stating the termination was without cause allowed him to hold onto his shares, which otherwise would have been forfeited.
"When corporate officers corrupt internal processes to manage their personal reputations or line their own pockets, they breach their fundamental duties to shareholders, who are entitled to transparency and fair dealing from executives," said Gurbir S. Grewal, director of the Division of Enforcement. "By allegedly concealing the extent of his misconduct during the company’s internal investigation, Easterbrook broke that trust with — and ultimately misled — shareholders."
The SEC charges also state that Easterbook withheld the fact that he had maintained additional relationships with employees in order to give himself a better deal.
"Public issuers, like McDonalds’s, are required to disclose and explain all material elements of their CEO’s compensation, including factors regarding any separation agreements," said Mark Cave, associate director of the Division of Enforcement.
The agency said Easterbrook has consented to a cease-and-desist order that imposes a $400,000 civil penalty and a five-year ban on holding officer and director positions at public companies.
An independent watchdog within the IRS reports that while taxpayer services have vastly improved, the agency is still too slow to resolve identity theft cases. And National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins says those delays are “unconscionable.” Erin M. Collins said in the report released Wednesday that overall the 2024 filing season went smoothly, though IRS delays in resolving identity theft victim assistance cases are worsening. It took nearly 19 months to resolve self-reported identity theft cases as of January, and Wednesday's report states that now it takes 22 months to resolve these cases.
Amazon.com Inc. surpassed $2 trillion in market value for the first time in afternoon trading on Wednesday. The push higher for Amazon’s stock market valuation comes a little more than a week after Nvidia hit $3 trillion and briefly became the most valuable company on Wall Street. Nvidia’s chips are used to power many AI application and its valuation has soared as a result. Amazon has also been making big investments in AI as global interest has grown in the technology. Most of the company’s focus has been on business-focused products.
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