Dutch retail giant Ahold has confirmed that the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission have brought charges against four former executives of its US subsidiary US Foodservice.
The charges levelled against former marketing director Mark Kaiser, former chief financial officer Michael Resnick, former purchasing manager Timothy Lee and a former vice president William Carter, relate to accounting irregularities at US Foodservice that were revealed by the company in February 2003.
According to the charges, the US government alleges that the four former executives engaged in securities laws violations. Lee was also charged with insider trading in securities of US Foodservice before its acquisition by Ahold and making false statements to a government official.
“US Foodservice has been actively cooperating with the authorities in their investigations. We will continue to cooperate with the government in its efforts to hold accountable those individuals who may have violated the law and abused our trust,” said US Foodservice’s new CEO, Lawrence Benjamin.
