14 DAY TRIAL // After many months, the federal investigation of Apple's stock option backdating, the prospects for a criminal case against Steve Jobs seem dim.
The federal probe showed that there is little, if any, evidence to support criminal charges against the CEO. Despite the fact that Jobs approved widespread backdating at Apple, there seems to be no evidence that he directed the backdating of his own grant or covered it up afterwards. Without such proof, there is no clear misconduct that is usually targeted by federal prosecutors in options scandals. The events that led to the grant have been analyzed and it appears that the backdating was an attempt by Apple's board of directors to reward their star CEO for resurrecting a moribund company.
Ever since Apple came forward and stated that it has started conducting an investigation, many have been afraid of the possibility of Jobs being found guilty, since some of the backdated grants had been at his direction. More than just the CEO, Jobs has had a profound influence and involvement in Apple and many think that the company would not be what it is today without him.
While Apple's own investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, that did little to remove the suspicion hanging over Jobs. Both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco have continued to investigate the matter, including interviewing Jobs. Now it looks like the SEC will be finishing the investigation and so far, everything looks good for the star CEO.
Both Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Crudo, who is heading the Apple criminal investigation, and Mark Pomerantz, Jobs' attorney, declined comment.