SEC Says Qwest To Pay $250M To Settle Charges
Qwest Agreed To Pay. Qwest Communications (Q) has agreed to pay $250 million to settle charges that it improperly booked $3.8 billion in revenue to meet "outrageously optimistic" revenue forecasts, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. The nation's No. 4 local phone company agreed to the settlement, which … [Read more...]
Qwest Investigation Brings Criminal Case
Qwest Officials Indictment. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Tuesday the indictments of four former Qwest officials, the first salvos of what he promised would be a long war against the beleaguered Baby Bell. With seven top federal lawmen at his side, Ashcroft said the four midlevel executives intentionally … [Read more...]
4 Former Qwest Officials Indicted
Qwest Officials Were Indicted. Four former executives of Qwest Communications were indicted for fraud, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced Tuesday. The four were indicted on 12 counts by a federal grand jury in Denver. They are accused of devising a scheme to create more than $33 million in revenue by wrongly reporting a … [Read more...]
Government Alleges Fraud at Qwest
Civil And Criminal Fraud at Qwest. A government investigation into Qwest's bookkeeping reportedly resulted in both civil and criminal suits against several current and former employees Tuesday. In the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil suit, eight current and former Qwest employees are alleged to have jumped the gun on … [Read more...]
State Fines Qwest
Qwest Misbilling And Switching The Long-Distance Service. State regulators fined Qwest Communications $20.3 million on Thursday for misbilling and switching the long-distance service of thousands of California customers without their permission. The fine, the latest effort by California regulators to crack down on … [Read more...]
Minnesota Nails Qwest
Qwest Secret Agreement Favoring Some Competitors. Minnesota utility regulators ruled Monday that Qwest Communications violated state and federal law by making secret agreements favoring some local telephone competitors over others. The decision by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission upheld recent findings by an … [Read more...]
N.Y. Suit Says Nacchio, Others Wrongly Profited From IPOs
Joe Nacchio Wrongly Profited From IPOs. New York’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that top executives at four companies, including Qwest, accepted stock in newly public companies in exchange for directing business to Salomon Smith Barney. Eliot Spitzer, who has investigated conflicts of interest at … [Read more...]
Judge: Qwest Illegally Blocked Foes
Qwest Violated Federal Laws. A Minnesota administrative law judge ruled Friday that Qwest Communications deliberately violated federal laws to block local telephone competitors. Qwest could face fines of $50 million if the ruling is upheld by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The ruling could hurt its chances of approval … [Read more...]
House To Query Nacchio On Qwest Deals
Nacchio On Qwest Deals. A congressional committee will question former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio as part of its investigation into alleged fraudulent deals between the company and bankrupt Global Crossing. Nacchio’s attorney, Charles Stillman, confirmed late Thursday that Nacchio has agreed to meet with the House Energy … [Read more...]
Qwest To Pay $1M Consumer Settlement
Qwest Settle Complaints. Qwest Communications International Inc. agreed to pay $1 million to the state, along with an undetermined amount of restitution to customers, to settle complaints it engaged in deceptive marketing of its telephone services. The settlement was announced Tuesday by Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar, … [Read more...]
Qwest To Restate Past Earnings
Qwest Accounting Problems. Qwest's acknowledgment of accounting problems could help the regional phone service provider restore investor trust, but analysts said big revisions in the bottom line for 2000 and 2001 could hurt the sale of a phone-directory business Qwest is counting on to reduce debt. Officials of Qwest … [Read more...]